TY - JOUR

T1 - The digitalization of family life

T2 - A multilevel conceptual framework

AU - Qian, Yue

AU - Hu, Yang

PY - 2024/10/31

Y1 - 2024/10/31

N2 - The internet and digital technologies have penetrated all domains of people's lives, and family life is no exception. Despite being a characterizing feature of contemporary family change, the digitalization of family life has yet to be systematically theorized. Against this backdrop, this article develops a multilevel conceptual framework for understanding the digitalization of family life and illustrates the framework by synthesizing state-of-the-art research from multiple disciplines across global contexts. At a micro level, as individuals “do” family online, digitalization influences diverse aspects of family practices, including family formation, functioning, and contact. How individuals “do” family online is not free-floating but embedded in macro-level economic, sociocultural, and political systems underpinning processes of digitalization. Bridging the micro–macro divide, family-focused online communities serve as a pivotal intermediary at the meso level, where people display family life to, and exchange family-related support with, mostly nonfamily members. Meso-level online communities are key sites for forming and diffusing collective identities and shared family norms. Bringing together the three levels, the framework also considers cross-level interrelations to develop a holistic digital ecology of family life. The article concludes by discussing the contributions of the framework to understanding family change and advancing family scholarship in the digital age.

AB - The internet and digital technologies have penetrated all domains of people's lives, and family life is no exception. Despite being a characterizing feature of contemporary family change, the digitalization of family life has yet to be systematically theorized. Against this backdrop, this article develops a multilevel conceptual framework for understanding the digitalization of family life and illustrates the framework by synthesizing state-of-the-art research from multiple disciplines across global contexts. At a micro level, as individuals “do” family online, digitalization influences diverse aspects of family practices, including family formation, functioning, and contact. How individuals “do” family online is not free-floating but embedded in macro-level economic, sociocultural, and political systems underpinning processes of digitalization. Bridging the micro–macro divide, family-focused online communities serve as a pivotal intermediary at the meso level, where people display family life to, and exchange family-related support with, mostly nonfamily members. Meso-level online communities are key sites for forming and diffusing collective identities and shared family norms. Bringing together the three levels, the framework also considers cross-level interrelations to develop a holistic digital ecology of family life. The article concludes by discussing the contributions of the framework to understanding family change and advancing family scholarship in the digital age.

KW - communication

KW - family

KW - family theory

KW - inequalities

KW - media

KW - theory

U2 - 10.1111/jomf.12983

DO - 10.1111/jomf.12983

M3 - Journal article

VL - 86

SP - 1160

EP - 1183

JO - Journal of Marriage and Family

JF - Journal of Marriage and Family

SN - 0022-2445

IS - 5

ER -