Family Time Eroding in US As Internet Use Soars

From USAToday:

NEW YORK (AP) — Whether it's around the dinner table or just in front of the TV, U.S. families say they are spending less time together.

The decline in family time coincides with a rise in Internet use and the popularity of social networks, though a new study stopped just short of assigning blame.

The Annenberg Center for the Digital Future at the University of Southern California is reporting this week that 28% of Americans it interviewed last year said they have been spending less time with members of their households. That's nearly triple the 11% who said that in 2006.

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Michael Gilbert, a senior fellow at the center, said people report spending less time with family members just as social networks like Facebook, Twitter and MySpace are booming, along with the importance people place on them.

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My Comments:
That's why, in the Anderson household, I try to stick to my rule (although not always successful) of no blogging (or Facebook) at all on the weekends or on weekday evenings until after the kids are in bed. Still, one reason I have cut back on the amount of blogging I'm doing is out of concern that it was taking too much time away from other more important matters.


UPDATE
In case anyone is confused by the fact that weekend posts often show up on this blog - such as the one this past weekend for Corpus Christi Sunday, in most of those instances, the blog posts were written ahead of time and scheduled to appear on a particular date.