Abstract
Media bring both risks and opportunities to family relationships. They can foster the growth of emotional bonds, strengthen relationships, and intensify communication within a family, but they can also be focal points of conflicts and misunderstandings, and sources of negative influences.
There are numerous theories and empirical findings about the relation of media and family (relationships). This entry summarizes them from two basic perspectives.
The first examines the ways in which media are used in a family and phenomena related to the "cohabitance" of family and media. This stems from audience research, enriched by qualitative studies exploring media use in everyday family life.
The second perspective focuses on the influence of media (use) on a family. It researches media effects that are related to a family, its members, and their relationships.