ABSTRACT
Despite the phenomenal growth and transformation of the media system in India since the 1990s, there has been little appreciation of the ways in which such changes have influenced and been influenced by the institution of family. This is partly due to the complexities associated with the analytical construct of ‘Indian family’. Such analytical challenge notwithstanding, this chapter attempts to explore the current understanding of plausible interactions between family and media in an environment marked by fast diffusion of digital technology, shifts in the policy priorities towards greater individualization under neoliberalism, and cultural globalization. It is observed that such structural-environmental shifts have produced profound changes in demographic, social and cultural spheres engendering in turn newer challenges to the imagination of family as a monolithic institution. Developments in media and technology have mediated these changes to modify personal and intra-family interactions. Whether these changes would destabilise family ties or help reconfigure the family space in transformative and empowering ways is a matter of deep empirical investigation.
