The great disconnection, thus affect the new technologies to the father-son bond

The time spent in the family is an always good choice and one that will bring happiness, good memories and encourage the bond between the members of the household. However, in recent years there has been an enemy that steals hours at this time together and that makes the relationship between parents and children no longer as strong as in the past, new technologies.

This is explained, by Catherine Steiner-Adair, a psychologist at Harvard University, in her book "The Great Disconnection"In these pages, the author explains that new technologies are distancing parents from their children and not only because the little ones spend too much time in front of their screens, the elderly also make an abusive use of these. technologies, which does not favor a climate of dialogue at home.


Cooling relationships

To reach his conclusions, Steiner analyzed about more than a thousand children and about 500 parents. It also met with schools to learn more about the use of new technologies made by students. An investigation in which it was discovered that the expansion of Internet access is cooling relationships at home. Parents feel that they are losing a connection with their children and they, at the same time, think that their parents are moving away.

"What I hear from the children, as soon as they are old enough to know the word, is'hypocrites' Some of them tell me: 'My parents are hypocrites. They say there can not be phones on the table, and then they answer calls. ' The problem in many parents is doing what they send their children, "explains Steiner.


Given this situation, this psychologist encourages coherence between the use of these devices and the values ​​of the family. For this we must take advantage of activities such as family meals, a time of day that should not be wasted with new technologies. Parents and children should talk by sitting at the table of their thoughts, feelings and how the day has gone.

Behavior alteration

The excessive attention of some parents to their smartphones is having serious consequences as the neglect of some important aspects such as the education of the little ones. This is indicated by an investigation by the University of Illinois, a work focused on verifying the relationship between the use given by parents to their cell phones and the behavior of their children. A behavior that can worsen the more attention the parents pay to the screens and not to what they have close to them.


The Illinois State University It gathered 168 mothers and 165 parents of small children from 170 different homes. The researchers conducted a questionnaire to these adults on the use of their smartphones, tablets, laptops and other technologies. The second question focused on the state of the family relationship and whether some alterations in the behavior of the youngest children had been appreciated.

At the same time, parents were asked to rate their level of dependence to these devices, depending on the ability to resist to check messages and worry about calls. Study participants also reported how often devices grabbed their attention when they should be busy with their children in some other way.

About half of the parents said that technology usually interrupted the time they spent with their children three or more times a day. For their part, 24% said that this happened twice a day, and a 17% reported that this happened once a day. By sex, the mothers were the ones who perceived that the use of the smartphone was more problematic than in the case of men.

Damián Montero

Video: How Our Obsession With Our Smartphones Is Ruining Our Love Lives [Disconnected]


Interesting Articles

Valentine, what do I give him?

Valentine, what do I give him?

We all like to celebrate Valentine's Day. But doubt always arises, what do I give him? You can ask yourself something that you will surely like: make a list of things that can make your partner...