Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The connected family
As each generation of parents becomes increasingly techno-literate, tech-
nology plays an important role in the family network. For example, Skype
(http://www.skype.com) is making speaking to family on the other side
of the world easy and free, and Facebook (http://www.facebook.com) is
allowing family members to see what each other is doing, and the Story
Before Bed website (http://www.astorybeforebed.com) provides a platform
for families to read interactive stories online using different social media
platforms. The internet and other technology platforms have become facili-
tators of communication in which distance is no longer a barrier (Yeoman,
2008).
The vertical family
Longevity and smaller core families have led to the family becoming more
vertical rather than statically horizontal in form. Grandparents as they
live longer are enjoying more time with their grandchildren. Consider the
following: in 1960, the life expectancy of a woman was 73 and the mean
age for giving birth was 27. Presently, life expectancy for a woman in the
UK is 82.6 (Office for National Statistics, 2010b). Thus, although the age
for giving birth is increasingly in the thirties, present-day grandparents
The traditional horizontal family The modern vertical family
Great-grandparents
Grandparents
Parents/aunts and uncles
Siblings/
cousins
Figure 3.5
The vertical family.
Source
: Briggs (2001)
