Technology, Culture, Family: Influences on Home Life

Silva (sociology, the Open University, UK) applies the theories of Bourdieu and Latour to her study of the impact, or lack thereof, of technology on family life in the UK. She discovers that the theories of neither man fit comfortably with the reality. One area in which they fall down is in their concept of gender. Silva bases her findings on two studies she did in the 1990s in which she interviewed a cross-section of families from different ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds. Dividing her results by household chore: dishes, cooking, laundry and child care, she examined signs that the possession of labor-saving technology changed family dynamics. For the most part she found that machines did not have as much impact as had been suggested. She does note that the microwave is something that has revolutionized food preparation and the home computer facilitates working and child-rearing. Otherwise new technologies seem to be integrated into existing family structure without impact. Even the sexual lives of the participants were seen in relation to technology. In some cases this involved developments in reproduction alternatives; in one instance material left on a computer unraveled a marriage. These tend, however, to reinforce the conclusion that the technology did not influence life so much as become the medium for the crisis. Silva raises many questions about contemporary family life and technology in this provocative study. Annotation c2011 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)