Family Communication in the Age of Digital and Social Media

The 22 essays in this collection consider communication in families in the age of digital and social media. Communication, family studies, and other scholars from the US address misconceptions about technology and the family, the role of privacy, the use of information technologies by transnational families, a couple and family technology framework, the role of media richness and family characteristics, and the use of Facebook as a family forum; technology in adolescence and emerging adulthood, including adolescent use of visual media in social technologies and supportive communication during the college transition; technology use in couples, discussing improving relationships through technology, everyday intrusions and interruptions caused by technology, the role of gender in the preservation of digital and paper communication from romantic relationships, the use of text-based mobile communication by married couples, couples' communication of rules and boundaries for social networking site use, and wedding sites; and parenting issues, focusing on the role of social media, the mobile phone use of children, obtaining information about children at college on Facebook, the use of new media for communication, generational differences, and nonresidential parenting. The final section offers a tool for exploring intergenerational family communication patterns around technology use. Annotation c2015 Ringgold, Inc., Portland, OR (protoview.com)

Carol J. Bruess (PhD, Ohio University) is Professor of Communication and Journalism and Director of Family Studies at the University of St. Thomas, Minnesota. She is the author of four books and dozens of journal articles and chapters, and is a regular contributor to the media on contemporary family issues.