Technologies for intergenerational family communication

Many families have begun to make use of information and communication technologies (ICT) and social media, incorporating their functionalities in their daily lives in order to keep in touch with each other. An exploratory investigation on how technology and social media are used to support intergenerational family communication was carried out, in order to understand, not only the technologies and media adopted, but also how and for what they are used by each family member. After the selection of families through pre-established criteria, semi-structured interviews were conducted to each of its members. It was possible to conclude that, despite the media differences and asymmetry in their use between generations, the members of the families under study use technologies and digital media at their disposal to maintain contact with each other. This paper proposes a social network for intergenerational family communication, based on a set of characteristics and functionalities identified as fundamental for any technology platform focused on family communication.