ABSTRACT
Today’s family lives in a home filled with media: newspapers, magazines, books, radios, televisions, videogameconsoles,DVDplayers, stereo systems, computers,wireless phones and PDAs, and various devices connecting to the Internet. These technologies are used by individuals for a variety of communication and entertainment activities. And while we are learningmore about what role these digital media technologies have in children and adults’ lives, it is surprising how little we know about their role in family relationships and family life. Furthermore, what we do know is relatively selective: We have more knowledge of families’ access to computers and television sets today than we do to cell phones and DVD players. Indeed, most research to date on families and digital media in their homes focuses on families’ access and use of these media, parental regulation of children’s use of these media, and the ways in which siblings interact with and around these media. In this way, studies of the newer digital media technology mirror the literature of families’ uses of earlier media in the home (Wartella & Jennings, 2001).
