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Family time seems to be lost to Web

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By BARBARA ORTUTAY The Associated Press

The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 16, 2009

NEW YORK - Whether it's around the dinner table or just in front of the television, 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 percent of Americans it interviewed last year said they are spending less time with members of their households. That's nearly triple the 11 percent who said that in 2006.

Those surveyed did not report spending less time with their friends.

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

"Most people think of the Internet and our digital future as boundless, and I do, too," Gilbert said. But, he said of spending less time together, "ultimately, it leads to less-cohesive and less-communicative families."

The Associated Press

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