The round-the-clock availability that cell phones and pagers have brought to people's lives may be taking a toll on family life, a new study suggests.
The study, which followed more than 1,300 adults over 2 years, found that those who consistently used a mobile phone or pager throughout the study period were more likely to report negative "spillover" between work and home life -- and, in turn, less satisfaction with their family life.
Spillover essentially means that the line between work and home begins to blur. Work life may invade home life -- when a parent is taking job-related calls at home, for instance -- or household issues may start to take up work time.
Link.
I found that, incidentally, at a new blog that's going to be worth watching: Suicide of the West. One of its contributors, David Pearson of National Catholic Register, said of the cell phone story:
The demolition of the family continues apace and personal technologies are, for all their benefits, one of the drivers working a shift on the wrecking ball.
From what I've seen of Suicide so far, such a pithy approach characterizes the new blog.
