Influence of technology usage on family communication patterns and functioning: A systematic review

The upsurge of technological advancement and the introduction of the internet has impacted face to face communication. The advances in this field have gained much interest in implying increased technology usage on various psychosocial factors, mainly mental health and changing communication patterns in the family system. This paper provides a systematic review of the literature published between 1990–2020, examining the relationship between technology usage and its impact on family factors like communication and family relationships. A database search was conducted using certain keywords, and in total, 20 papers were selected according to inclusion criteria. The results are categorized into domains of 1) technology use of the family, 2) family communication 3) family bonding 4) rules for technology use 5) boundaries maintained by the family members related to technology use. The results indicate that technology usage in families is very high, and maximum daily communication happens through technology. Family leisure time, offline family bonding and communication is negatively affected due to technology use. A model was developed which has implications in the family psychiatry field and specifically in working with families having difficulties managing healthy use of technology.