The Fracturing of the Family

As proved by our previous unit in this class, our world is currently undergoing a major shift in the world of technology. Within the span of a century, the world has gone from fledgling flight to Artificial Intelligence. This tremendous shift in technology will certainly affect the dynamic and ideals of the American family, just as the shift from an agrarian society to Capitalism did in the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries. Describing this previous phenomenon, John D’Emilio wrote, “The expansion of capital and the spread of wage labor have effected a profound transformation in the structure and functions of the nuclear family, the ideology of family life, and the meaning of heterosexual relations” (228).

As D’Emilio asserts in his article “Capitalism and Gay Identity,” it was the ability of the individual to earn their own wages that lead to a decline in the nucleic family (228). Capitalism, in the eyes of D’Emilio, removed the necessity for a co-dependent family unit. It allowed a person to be able to provide for and function as a single unit rather than the member or a group. It is just this isolationism, this newfound ability to be solely responsible for one’s own person, that is carried over in the theme of the technological advances of today. New devices and software, such as iChat and Facebook, certainly allow people to stay connected with their friends and loved ones regardless of time or distance. While nearly all new technologies are touted as being the newest and best way to stay in touch, the actual effects they have upon relationships can be viewed in a different light.

In reality, these technologies that supposedly allow us to be better connected only serve to further alienate us from one another. We no longer need to visit our family members in person or call them on the telephone, since posting a comment on someone’s Facebook is far quicker. No one needs to send a holiday newsletter with updated family pictures because it is far less time consuming to create a new album for all to see. Thus, our new advances will only serve to further break up the family unit as they will enable us to “stay connected” from a distance. It will enable families to be separated by further distances, while providing them with the illusion that they will remain a solitary, close-knit entity.