Technology is helping families stay in touch like never before.

Instead of pushing people apart, mobile phones and the internet are bringing families together says the Pew Internet report.

51% of American parents say they browsed the web with their children.

“Some analysts have worried that new technologies hurt family togetherness, but we see that technology allows for new kinds of connectedness built around cell phones and the internet,” said Tracy Kennedy of the University of Toronto who helped to write the Networked Families report.

Family and friends

The research looked at the differences between families with children and single adults, couples without children and adults who share a home but are not related.

Multiple mobile phones were found in 89% of “nuclear” families and 66% had a high-speed net connection. The US national average for broadband is 52%.

It also found that 58% of this type of family were likely to have more than two computers in the home.

Seventy percent of couples who both own a mobile use it every day to chat or say hello. In addition, it found, 42% of parents contact their children via their mobile every day.

53% of responders said that due to the increase in technology they found it easier than ever to stay in touch with distant family members.

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