Family Living

Parents cope with the new tube

"Family life will never be the same," proclaimed Scholastic publishing when it launched Family Computing magazine a year ago. Exactly how computers might change the American family was left to the imagination. Now, however, Scholastic has released what is believed to be the first in-depth study of the social impact of home computers. The results suggest that the new machines can change the way a family lives, but that they will not have the profound impact on American life-styles that the automobile and television had in earlier decades. Says Joseph Giacquinta, the New York University professor who headed the investigation:

"Micros actually reinforce, rather than alter, existing family patterns."

Observing 100 adults and children in 20 New York-metropolitan-area families, Giacquinta's researchers found that virtually every parent bought a computer in the hope that it would help a child get ahead in school. At the same time, most adults feared that the machines were being used too much for playing games.

And, says Researcher Trika Smith-Burke: "Almost all parents had a latent fear that their children would become hooked by the computer."

Computers fit in all too familiar ways into most of the households studied. In families where sibling rivalries are prominent, the researchers found that children will fight over control of the computer. In those where moderation is stressed, rules of computer use will be laid out. In highly authoritarian families, parents will require children to spend after-school hours at the machine.

Adults in the study often went to great lengths to keep their children from becoming computer addicts. Half of the families imposed some kind of time limit on computer use; many imposed physical barriers to restrict youngsters' access to keyboards. One family stashed the machine in a closet to discourage casual play.

One mother, determined to keep an eye on her son's computing activities, moved the machine out of his bedroom and into the kitchen.

Despite these efforts, the 20 families suffered their share of casualties. One wife, two husbands and two teen-age sons became obsessed with the machines, at least in the eyes of other family members. One wife complained that her husband was rushing through meals to get to his computer. A husband lamented that his spouse was spending more time programming her computer than tending to his needs. And one mother said her teen-ager's complexion turned "the color of cream cheese" as a result of too many marathon sessions in front of the newest tube.