Real Simple has an interesting article about improving parent-child relationships through social media interaction.
It cites research published in Emerging Adulthood which suggests that communicating with your children through multiple platforms can have slightly beneficial results on your relationship with them.
Building on a study which showed how communication technologies can improve friendships, Jennifer Schon, a doctoral candidate in communication studies at the University of Kansas, set out to analyze their effect on parent-child relationships.
Adding just one additional mode of communication correlated to increased relationship quality and satisfaction, Schon found. Most reported using an average of three channels to communicate with parents—the most common being cell phone, text messaging, and email. Many parents also connected through landlines and social networking sites. For parents who already email, text, and call their children frequently, the occasional Facebook message might only serve to improve communication.
If Schon carried our her research in Beijing’s expat community we think she’d find WeChat would edge out email to place in top-three most common methods of communication. So if you’re new to China, or have just been living under a rock, click here to get started with WeChat. You’re going to need it.
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Image courtesy of Kleuske (Flickr)
