Young adults' perceptions of technology use with extended family

• Published date: 01 April 2023
• Author: Heather M. Hessel,Samantha LeBouef
• Date: 01 April 2023
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/fare.12815

RESEARCH

Young adults’perceptions of technology use with

extended family

Heather M. Hessel|Samantha LeBouef

Department of Family Social Science,

University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN

Correspondence

Heather M. Hessel, Counseling, Rehabilitation

& Human Services Department, University of

Wisconsin–Stout, 337 Vocational

Rehabilitation Bldg, Menomonie, WI 54751,

USA.

Email: hesselh@uwstout.edu

Funding information

This research was supported by the Minnesota

Agricultural Experiment Station.

Abstract

Objective: The current study explores young adults’per-

ceptions of the use and impact of technology on their rela-

tionships with extended family.

Background: Young adults are avid technology users and

communicate frequently with parents and siblings using a

variety of online tools. There is limited research examining

young adults’use of technology to communicate with

extended family members, despite studies suggesting that

these relationships serve a unique and valuable role in their

lives.

Method: Qualitative data were collected from 529 U.S. 18–

29-year-old young adults (N=529; Mage =25.91 years,

SD =2.53) utilizing an onlinesurvey.

Results: An inductive content analysis revealed five primary

themes: Technologyfacilitates giving and receiving support,

technology enables family bonding, technology allows

young adults to mediate distance and closeness, technology

environments as places of family discovery, and paradoxes

exist in technology use withextended family.

Conclusion: Young adults connect with extended family

online in beneficial and sometimes contradictory ways;

technology serves as a mechanism for modulating levels of

involvement with family, enabling young adults to pre-

serve or grow autonomy while also providing opportuni-

ties for interaction in their everyday lives.

Implications: Family practitioners and educators working

with young adults can assist them in tapping into extended

family as a resource using a range of communication

channels.

KEYWORDS

communication technology, content analysis, extended family, kin, young

adults

Received: 30 May 2022Revised: 14 October 2022Accepted: 17 November 2022

DOI: 10.1111/fare.12815

© 2023 National Council on Family Relations.

Family Relations. 2023;72:565–584. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/fare 565

INTRODUCTION

Family relationships are arguably the most important relationships in an individual’s life.

Whether formed legally by marriage or adoption, biologically, or chosen, relationships with

family members normally last a lifetime. For today’s young adults, those ages 18–29, these fam-

ily relationships are frequently maintained using communication technology; research has

shown that young adults are connecting with both immediate and extended family using tech-

nology (Stephenson-Abetz & Holman, 2012). As young adults transition out of the home, the

responsibility of keeping up with extended family members begins to shift from the parents to

young adults (Arnett, 2000). Therefore, it is important to examine the ways in which young

adults themselves are communicating with their extended family members and roles these mem-

bers play. However, despite their importance and lifelong quality, the limited research con-

ducted on family communication using technology has focused on the nuclear family unit,

often consisting of “traditional”family roles, such as communication between parents and their

children or within intimate partner relationships (Holst, 2017). Although parent–child and inti-

mate relationships are fundamental, there is a gap in our understanding of communication

within the extended family network, broadly defined as nonparental and nonsibling family

relationships.

Extended family members, such as aunts and uncles, cousins, and other kin also play an

important role in the lives of young adults; how these relationships are being maintained via

technology is a relatively unexplored phenomenon (Ellingson & Sotirin, 2006; Milardo, 2009).

Due to technological developments, individuals can conveniently communicate in a variety of

different ways, making it easier than ever to maintain extended family relationships. However,

it is unclear how and why young adults are using technology to communicate with extended

family, and if they perceive these connections to be worthwhile. As new technology evolves it is

important for researchers to continue exploring how young adults are communicating with

extended family members and how these new technologies, such as social media, influence fam-

ily relationships. Given the prevalence of online interaction in family communication, broadly,

this research fills a crucial gap by specifically targeting the dynamics between young adults and

their extended family.

Young adults and technology

Having the unique experience of being exposed to technological innovations such as the internet

and cell phones at relatively young ages, 99% of U.S. adults ages 18–29 use the internet and

have been able to quickly adapt to new technology (Pew Research Center, 2021a). Increases in

smartphone ownership have led to an increase in social media use across all age group s, particu-

larly young adult and middle-aged groups. Currently, 18–29-year-olds are the largest group of

adult social media users, representing 84% of U.S. adults who use at least one social media site;

the group comprised of 30–49-year-olds follow close behind at 81% (Pew Research

Center, 2021b).

As the use of smartphones and social media has become widespread, other age groups have

become heavy users of communication technology as well. However, data suggest that there

may be a range of communication preferences, such as phone calls and texting, for extended

family members, depending on age and generation. Whereas 18–29-year-olds and 30–49-year-

olds report similar numbers of Facebook (70% vs. 79%), Pinterest (32% vs. 34%), and YouTube

(95% vs. 91%) users, 18–29-year-olds are predominant in their use of social media platforms

such as Instagram (71% vs 48%) and Snapchat (65% vs 24%; Pew Research Center, 2021b). In

contrast, 30–49-year-olds are more prevalent on LinkedIn and WhatsApp (Pew Research

Center, 2021b).

566 FAMILY RELATIONS