Investigating the Influence of Information and Communication Technology on the Contemporary Family Structure

Assessing the impact of information and communication technology on the family system (structural and emotional relationships) in order to predict the structure of families in the future can be the subject of an applied research. Iranian families in metropolitan areas face structural problems and a lack of emotional relationships due to the use of ICT, as almost all family members, regardless of gender, age and status, are considered users. This study seeks to investigate the effects of information and communication technology on the structural relationships and emotional relationships of the family members according to the social theory of communication. So the research question is how the structure of the family (structural relationships and emotional relationships) will be constructed by the influence of information and communication technologies? According to the social theory of communication, the change in structural and emotional relationships is due to the influence of technological relationships in the family. The difference in the forms of the family in the future is due to the influence of communication technology, due to the difference in the amount and manner of using technology between family members and at different stages of life. The main conclusion and idea of this paper is that the structure of the contemporary family will change in new ways due to the influence of ICT according to the social theory of communication in near future.