The parent child relationship is a unique relationship in itself. This relationship is so pure and full of trust, care, love and whole heartedness. However the relationship between parent and child has changed a lot with the changing landscape, human development and lifestyle. The relationship today is not the same kind as it used to be in earlier times. The shift towards nuclear family and loss of joint family system caused by rapid urbanization has changed the child rearing approach. It has become more of an individualistic approach rather than a community affair. Also the perception related to parenting has changed tremendously amongst adults too as they consider it to be a choice and not something natural. With the advent of digital age things have changed a lot and so does the dynamics of parent child relationship. The change is most significant in an adolescent child and parent relation as in this phase the child goes through a series of physical, mental and emotional changes that are affected by the changes in his social environment and particularly his relationship with parents.
With the coming of social media, the friend circle and social outreach of children have increased well beyond the geographic limit. Earlier it used to be under the grasp of the parents because of geographic restrictions. This has created more vulnerability for the parent child relationship. Parents also often lag behind children in terms of adoption of new technologies. The pace with which children adapt technological changes is much faster than ever before. Â This lag creates a digital divide between the two generations if the parents do not cope-up with it.
The way children interact now with their parents and family members is far more different than earlier times. Technology has changed the interaction methods as it led to a reduction in the amount of physical interaction and made it more of a superficial kind of relationship. This can cause strains in relationship and lesser meaningful interaction between children and parents.
The other effects of digital era include the decline in the amount of time being given to relationships to flourish. Although technological tools do help in increasing communication and making it better but joint social media engagement drops off remarkably for kids who are six years or above. Hence to make meaningful relationship and to keep the relations smooth it is necessary for children and parents to spend more time together which may be either through the use of digital communicating tools.
