Has Technology Cut Into Your Family Time?
August 11th, 2009
Even before I brushed my teeth today, I logged on to my computer around 7:30 a.m. First I checked email, then Facebook, and then I looked at my Twitter account.
When I saw fellow Working Parents blogger Mauro Vaisman’s Facebook status (posted from Twitter), it seemed utterly apropos.
New morning routine: check Twitter, FB, email–all before breakfast
I didn’t realize until later that Mauro was referring to today’s New York Times front-page article about the new morning routines of families: “Coffee Can Wait. Day’s First Stop Is Online.” (I save reading the actual paper versions of the New York Times and Wall Street Journal for my morning subway commute.)
While the article is light on actual statistics and academic studies about the impact of social media on family time, it says “Internet companies that used to watch traffic levels rise only when people booted up at work now see the uptick much earlier.”
Arbor Networks, a Boston company that analyzes Internet use, says that Web traffic in the United States gradually declines from midnight to around 6 a.m. on the East Coast and then gets a huge morning caffeine jolt. “It’s a rocket ship that takes off at 7 a.m,” said Craig Labovitz, Arbor’s chief scientist. Akamai, which helps sites like Facebook and Amazon keep up with visitor demand, says traffic takes off even earlier, at around 6 a.m. on the East Coast. Verizon Wireless reported the number of text messages sent between 7 and 10 a.m. jumped by 50 percent in July, compared with a year earlier.
Indeed, I too have fallen victim to the morning social networking time suck. This morning, for example, I planned to spend just a few minutes in front of the computer in our home office. Ha. When I checked the time again, it was almost 8 a.m. My son was still sleeping, but, had he been awake, I may or may not have continued my morning social media “workout” as he watched television in the other room.
What does the constant barrage of email, texting, Twitter, Facebook, and other forms of social media mean for work-life balance? In today’s Wall Street Journal, another article examines whether or not emailing and returning work calls by cellphone during non-work hours counts as “work.”
To cope with technology infringing on family time, some families are banning laptops and cellphones at meals. What’s happening in your household? Has technology been eating into your family gatherings? Have you set any new media rules for your family?
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