Families Spend Less Time Together

New study doesn't blame internet, but notes decline in family time coincides with rising popularity of social networks.

By: Jennifer Rogers | WKRG-TV
Published: June 16, 2009

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NEW YORK (AP) - Is the Internet keeping your family apart? A new study says families in the U.S. are spending less time together.
And while the study by the Annenberg Center for the Digital Future doesn't place the blame on the Internet, it does note that the decline in family time does coincide with a rise in Internet use and the popularity of social networks.

The study says 28 percent of Americans interviewed last year report spending less time with members of their households. That's nearly three times the 11
percent who said that in 2006. Michael Gilbert is a senior fellow at the center, which is part of the University of Southern California. And he notes that the Internet is so engrossing, and demands so much more attention than other technologies, that it can disrupt personal boundaries in ways other technologies wouldn't have.