• Couples Use of Technology for Communication: Functions and Future Directions|
  Presented by: Ryan Fewins-Bliss, Martha S. Perry

• Reflections on Technology Use in Post-divorce Families
  Presented by: Richard Feistman, Tyler Jamison, Marilyn Coleman, Lawrence Ganong

• Media and the Family: Current Trends for Media Use, Monitoring, and Connection
  Presented by: Sarah M Coyne, Laura M Padilla-Walker, Laura Stockdale, Ashley Fraiser

• Digital Divide: An Examination of How Parents' Technology Use Differs by Income
  Presented by: Jennifer Doty, Jodi Dworkin, Jessie Connell

Abstracts

Couples Use of Technology for Communication: Functions and Future Directions

Presented by: Ryan Fewins-Bliss, Martha S. Perry

The purpose of this review is to discuss couples utilization of computer-mediated communication (CMC).  A discussion of the text-based nature of CMC will be followed by a review of the literature that highlights the different functions that CMC serves for couples. Functions include: increasing connectedness to one's partner, facilitating relationship maintenance behaviors (including long distance and military couples), enhancing sexual intimacy, initiation/termination of relationships, and monitoring use of technology.  Future directions for research will also be discussed.

Reflections on technology use in post-divorce families

Presented by: Richard Feistman, Tyler Jamison, Marilyn Coleman, Lawrence Ganong

American families are increasingly mobile, making kinship ties difficult to maintain exclusively through face-to-face contact. This is particularly salient in post-divorce families, who experience new challenges such as living in separate households and navigating geographic distance. In order to explore the role of technology in maintaining post-divorce family bonds, we conducted secondary analysis of 112 in-depth interviews with coparents, stepchildren, and children with nonresidential parents. We concluded that coparents and children have different perceptions the benefits and drawbacks of cell phones, e-mail, texting, and Facebook, but they agree that technology assists them in maintaining closeness with family members.

Media and the Family: Current Trends for Media Use, Monitoring, and Connection

Presented by: Sarah M Coyne, Laura M Padilla-Walker, Laura Stockdale, Ashley Fraiser

The last decade has a seen a major shift in the way families use media. The aim of the study was to assess family media use from an adolescent and parent perspective. Participants consisted of 469 adolescents and their parents. The majority of the sample reported texting their parents on a regular basis (more so for older adolescents). Parental education was related to less texting by children. Children from single-parent families reported that their parent used media as a reward more than did children from two-parent families. Discussion will apply results to a family systems approach.  

Digital Divide: An Examination of How Parents' Technology Use Differs by Income

Presented by: Jennifer Doty, Jodi Dworkin, Jessie Connell

The Parenting 2.0 project surveyed parents (N=1671) to better understand their technology use. Informed by ecological theory, we explored how parents' online activities could be grouped to reflect different resource needs and found the following five factors: Discussing/blogging, Information seeking, Online class activities, Social activities, and Media sharing. In addition, we found that resource needs differ by income. Specifically, parents' technology use was significantly more frequent for low income parents than high income parents in discussion/blogging, social networking and online classes. Those in the highest income bracket reported frequent information seeking than those in the two lowest income brackets.