{"id":5061,"date":"2012-12-06T01:51:20","date_gmt":"2012-12-06T07:51:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/news\/?p=5061"},"modified":"2015-11-12T08:21:46","modified_gmt":"2015-11-12T14:21:46","slug":"facebook-or-phone-call-family-dynamics-might-decide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/news\/facebook-or-phone-call-family-dynamics-might-decide\/","title":{"rendered":"Facebook or phone call? Family dynamics might decide"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Bill and Kerry Sinksy have four children in college, including 51ÁÔÆæ senior, Sean, and use multiple new technologies, including social media to stay in touch. (Photos by Alan Magayne-Roshak)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Families are relying on technology more and more to keep in touch, but family dynamics play a role in choosing which technologies they use for communicating.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s according to new research by doctoral student Emily Cramer and her faculty mentor, Edward Mabry, associate professor of communication.<\/p>\n

Their preliminary research on the use of computer-mediated communication technology showed that families who valued open exchange and communication \u2013 a conversation orientation \u2013 tended to use Facebook and Skype\/. Families who put a high value on avoiding conflict and encouraging conformity \u2013 conformity orientation \u2013 tended to use more email, phone calls and texting.<\/p>\n

\n
One promising finding of the research was that families, even older members, are adopting the new technologies.<\/em><\/h5>\n<\/div>\n

The researchers\u2019 definition of communication styles is based on a standard communication scale designed to measure a family\u2019s conversation orientation. For example, a family with a high conversation orientation might have long, relaxed conversations and enjoy talking to each other even when family members disagree; a family with a high conformity orientation might stress the importance of unquestioning obedience.<\/p>\n

Those styles drive how the families use new technology to communicate, according to Cramer and Mabry\u2019s research findings. \u201cFamilies with a higher conversational style tend to use richer media like Facebook or video calling,\u201d says Cramer, \u201cwhile families with a higher conformity style use leaner media like email and telephone calls to communicate.\u201d<\/p>\n

Findings from Cramer and Mabry\u2019s research, \u201cThe Impact of Computer-Mediated Communication Technology on Family Communication Patterns: An Exploratory Study,\u201d were presented this past summer at the International Association for Relationship Research Conference in Chicago.<\/p>\n

Cramer\u2019s idea for the research grew out of Mabry\u2019s graduate seminar on the use of media in communication, she says. In the class, she studied the use of media in different contexts, but discovered that not much work had been done on how family dynamics affected or were affected by the use of new communication technologies<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Researcher Emily Cramer uses multiple media to stay in touch.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The research results were based on a survey of U.S. college students about their preferred forms of communication with their parents and siblings. In general, says Cramer, students from the higher \u201cconformity\u201d families tended to communicate less with their parents than did the students from more \u201cconversational\u201d families. And, not surprisingly, students in general tended to use the technology preferred by their parents.<\/p>\n

In a related study, the researchers also found that family size had an impact on communications. Students from larger families tended to communicate more frequently with their siblings than their parents in a way that seemed to transcend the media used. \u201cWe\u2019d like to look at that more,\u201d says Cramer, \u201cto see how family demographics manifest themselves in these new contexts.\u201d<\/p>\n

One promising finding of the research was that families, even older members, are adopting the new technologies. \u201cMore and more, parents are turning to texting to talk with their kids,\u201d says Cramer.<\/p>\n

Whatever their style, she adds, \u201cfamilies are learning these new technologies, and they want to stay close.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Families are relying on technology more and more to keep in touch, but family dynamics play a role in choosing which technologies they use for communicating.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":835,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","uwm_wg_additional_authors":[]},"categories":[174,175],"tags":[],"section":[142,139],"display_categories":[],"related-coverage":[],"uwmnews-feed":[],"class_list":["post-5061","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","category-research","section-computer-science-technology","section-science-technology"],"yoast_head":"\nFacebook or phone call? 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