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with the growing number of Internet users in India there has been a concomitant change in familial dynamics too. When everyone’s hard pressed for time between deadlines and time crunches familial bonding has now also gone virtual
No surprises then that most social media has applications like the family circle, the family tree and also has a relations block in the "about me" column! It is not uncommon to "chat" with your family virtually especially if you are away from home or to be tagged in your many family trips album by one of your family members. The familiarity and the ease of handling technology is also a contributing factor to even the traditionally not-so-tech-savvy moms jumping onto the social media bandwagon and why not? Not only immediate family members but also extended family, including cousins, aunts, uncles and also distant relatives are all a part of one big happy social media family. Public vs private The boundaries of public and private domain as we knew earlier are blurring now as even the most as virtual intimate confessions are now being publicly made on social media, on pages such as IIT &IIM Confessions community on Facebook. It is not surprising then that the family is being included in the trust circle yet again. As the mother of a teenager who just gifted a smartphone to her daughter as gift on her sixteenth birthday says, "Technology is a part of our children’s life. What is important is for us as parents to equip them with tools of judgment for judicious usage of the same! Moreover I also get to know what’s happening in her life more than I would if I didn’t have her status messages to read. " This newly connected virtual family time is not the solution to the lack of communication in the family just as it is not the only reason of disintegrating familial values. Dr Samir Parikh, Director, Mental Health and Behavioural Science, Fortis Healthcare, New Delhi, says, "Surely we can’t ignore the intricate part that technology is of our lives, yet, for it to become a substitute for real-time communication and empathy is too far-fetched and flawed to imagine. It will only be detrimental if we were to bank heavily on it to provide us familial support and security." Not to say that this should be the preferred mode of communication, yet it is here and for us to see. Dr Simmi Waraich, consultant psychologist, Fortis Healthcare Mohali, says, "With the growing knowledge and awareness of technology amongst the older generation now, they are also comfortable in sharing virtual space with their family and friends. How and what one shares is of course one’s personal choice and reflects on one’s personality too. It also helps them keep in touch with one’s family and of course at the end of the day one can always manage one’s account settings in all sites for controlled sharing." Sharing stuff Sharing a picture, jokes or gags, messages for private consumption, it’s all in the family now, virtually! A number of people are now "connecting" with their family members over social games score or just by commenting randomly on a status message. As everyone becomes more and more hard pressed for time, family is the new ‘friend,’ at least virtually.
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The virtual connection
that the child shares with his "friend" and
"followers" on Facebook and Twitter has made parents and
families join the many networking sites and add their respective
family members as "friends" on the social media. For the
older generation it is more the case of "if you can’t beat
them, join them".
Family
leaf: Share photographs and messages with your
connections on a secure network.