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Information and Communication Technology (ICT) plays an extensive role in the everyday activities of a human being such as communication, health, entertainment, public service, finance, education, business, etc. (Scott, 1997; Thulin & Vilhelmson, 2005; Keating et al., 2013; Church et al., 2010; Wang et al., 2015; Carvalho et al., 2016) Among that, the use of ICT in family functioning is at a greater pace (Carvalho et al., 2016) and which helps for family development based on various instances (Dworkin et al., 2019). “Family functioning is understood as a process by which a family meets basic needs, make decisions, establish rules, and achieves goals, while fostering both individual and family development” (Lanigan, 2009; Procentese et al., 2019).
Carvalho et al. (2017) found that the high number of ICT use in families associate with positive family functioning. ICT helps in managing healthy family dynamics and emerging adults face some problems compared to kid's. At the same time, parents in the family have a different perception and the secured use of social media in the family depends on the parent's mindset. They strive hard for making social media use positive without affecting family relationships (Procentese et al., 2019). Though social media facilitate communication and reconnection, parents face big difficulties in managing children ICT use and monitor their behaviors especially individualism and isolation (Israel & Eunice, 2019). Contemporary families that have a high number of ICT devices experienced a change in lifestyle and opinion-making (Anderson et al., 1999; McGrath, 2012). With respect to couples in the family, they prefer interpersonal electronic surveillance than direct conversation. They feel that it can satisfy, secure the relationships and online surveillance are easy through ICT (Hertlein & van Dyck, 2020).
In a few families generational divide and difference in preference between parents and children are identified (Kumar & Sriram, 2019). ICT also influenced family cohesion (Lanigan, 2009; Mesch, 2006). In networked households where family members connect with co-family members experience benefits as well as conflicts (Joseph, 2018). It is also proved that ICT helps for transnational families to connect with the family members to bring physical proximity (Stern & Messer, 2009; Bacigalupe, 2011). ICT is also used as a sign of good care between older adults and family members living abroad. The feeling of love, togetherness, bonding was highly sought through ICT devices in transnational families (Ahlin, 2018). This proves that ICT devices have a bigger contribution to all family activities (Blinn-Pike, 2009; Gunuc & Dogan, 2013; Boudreau & Consalvo, 2014; Carvalho et al., 2016).
The domestication of technology in family setup, process, and stages are theoretically developed at various stages. Uses and gratification approach is the one that analyses how people gratify their needs using media and technologies. Ball-Rokeach and De Fleur (1976) propounded the media system dependency theory which states that the media, audience, and society are believed to be dependent on one another to satisfy their goals. Marshal McLuhan who framed technological determinism theory believes that technological inventions always cause cultural change and communication plays a major role in it. He further said that new technology brings changes in routine activities such as eating, dressing, greeting, communication, etc. It has affected the way people think, feel and act. Family ICTs Possession based typology developed by Rompaey, Roe and Struys (2002) stated there are three ways families possess technology. They are slow technological density (Traditional: television and a low number of audio systems), intermediate usage (Medium technological density, more television and audio systems) and high technological density (Possession of new technologies such as internet and email). Domestication of Technology theory talks about the process of bringing the new and unfamiliar technologies into the family setting/context and come under the control of users, raising feelings of excitement and threat (Blinn-Pike, 2009; Haddon, 2006; Mesch, 2006). The theory has four important stages such as appropriation, objectification, incorporation, and conversion. These four stages explained how the new ICT devices entering into the home and influencing the family member's routine life.