Impact of New Media Technologies on Social Interaction and Communication in the Household

The purpose the paper is to determine the impact of new media technologies on social interaction and communication in the household. The following questions will guide the study process.

Q1. How does the new media technologies increase communication and social interaction within households?

Q2. How do new media technologies lead to privatization and family divide?

Q3. Does family members use new media technology individually instead of collectively?

Background Research Report and Justification

The family is the primary unit in any society. It involves a group of people living together disjointed from the rest of the world. The family is important to any person because it is a source of identity, belonging, love and security. Modern families have become more complex as people have become more individualistic and spend less time together. This has changed the position of every family in the modern society as new media technologies have become more immersed into individuals daily routine than before. With the rapid expansion of new media technologies, it is feared that people have become more immersed in the digital world than in the real world. The integration of new media technology into the society has a significant influence on social interaction within the household. This continue to affect the manner in which families operate and the dynamics of family life such that no longer spend much time together. New media technologies have become an important part in the manner in which people communicate and interact. New media technology help bring family members together by increasing interactions among the members of a family. Such interactions assist in bridging the digital divide in the family and between different generations. However, the drastic change in social interaction has loosen leading to an increase of privatization and digital divide within households with family members using technology independently instead of sharing or using technology collectively to increase social interaction. It is important to note that families with new media technologies are different from families with limited or no access to technology particularly in family dynamics. Such technologies alters patterns of interaction and family culture. Today, many Households have adopted domestic technologies that alter family culture and aid in the everyday running of household affairs. Adoption of new media technology, such as the internet, in the everyday routines, has impacted contemporary society in various ways, like the quality of family relations. Also, due to domestication, digital technologies such as computer games, video games, and the internet, have become a fundamental part of children's' lives, especially in the western world. Many children in western countries have access to mobile phone and can still access television. Most of them also have games consoles, handheld games, MP3 players, DVD players, cameras, and laptops. Technology has led to significant changes that make human interaction in the modern world be governed by the situation of particular devices. Thus, it is surprising how new media technologies have become part and part and parcel of the daily lives of children. Social interaction is now governed by new media technologies. Technology has created new prospects for people by developing various patterns of accessing information and social interactions. It has reduced the boundary between work and family time such that one can work from home, get paid and still socialize with one another. However, depending on the type of technology in question, its impact can also be negative. New media has changed how people entertain themselves and also contributed to the privatization of social interactions previously conducted outside the home and this may lead to social isolation. New media technologies can either have internal or external social functions. Internal functions facilitates communication and social interaction among household members while external functions facilitates social interaction and communication with people not physically present within the household. This has change how people entertain or learn. For example, new media technologies such as computer increases social interaction within the home. Electronic gaming does not result in social isolation, instead it enhances social interaction and peer relationships in the household. Media technology also influences social interactions positively by reducing efforts required to perform work-related activities, therefore allowing individuals to engage in non-work activities. By reducing work related activities, leisure time is increased giving family members more flexibility As a result, Leisure time is increased thus allowing individual's free time for social interaction. Besides interacting, technology is also a means for children to acquire new skills and improve school achievement. Through television viewing- a social activity that can be done by members of the family-promotes television talks, which is a way that help the family establish positive communication and social interaction. Different television programs may give people something to talk about leading to social interaction among the family members. Internet as a new media technology also encourages communication and social interaction among family members. This is an opportunity for communication and family collaboration where children and parents can collaborate in software installation or play games together. By increasing the social ties, young people establish social familial relationships and fill communication gaps between face to face interactions. New media technology can also provide new opportunities for creativity that makes it useful as an educational medium. It can, therefore, be used to the advantage of families by using it as a space of meeting and doing something productive together. New media technology also impacts social interactions negatively by leading to technologization of childhood. Most of the negative effects are as a result of games, television, and computers. These tools increase social isolation since children play by themselves most of the time and due to this, their linguistic intellectual is at risk. Their well-being is also at risk since they spend more time indoors and risk being obese. Children in the 20th century spend considerable proportions of their leisure time at home with mass media, rather than spending it in communal space. The emergence of bedroom culture has led to individualism among the young people thus reducing social interaction. Bedrooms have become media rich as young people continue spending more time in their bedrooms for individualization and consumerism thus leading to privatization of children's lives. Spending more time indoors provides an opportunity to share media with friends. It encourages socialization outside family circle rather than having to spend time alone. Rather, it brings the outside world inside. Therefore, media technology can either increase or decrease social interaction among individuals in the household. Such electronics have, in the recent past, contributed to the death of childhood. It exploits a child's vulnerability and destroys their innocence. Therefore, new media technologies have led to an increase of privatization within households with family members using technology independently instead of sharing or using technology collectively.

The implication of new media technologies on communication and social interaction is a critical topic that have a great contribution in the world of sociology. It is important to know how the family as an essential institution in the society functions. Studying the impact of new media technologies in households will inform the society about modern life and analyze how technology influence today's society. Such research can yield a greater acumen and have a direct bearing on the efforts of technology in the present world. The research can also lead to further contribute to solutions to new media technology and provide a greater understanding that will enable people to improve their conditions and control their social life. The study will enhance our knowledge on the impact that new media technologies have on communication and social interactions in the house holds. From the discussion, it is clear that many new media technologies increases privatization and negatively affect social interaction in within the household. This means that new media technologies leads to drastic change in family values and family relationships. For new media technologies to influence social interactions in a positive manner, people must use their devices to communicate and interact with each other. This may include using new media technologies such as watching television together or playing a computer game together as a way of interacting. Thus, it is important for family members to use digital media collectively rather than using it individually.

References

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