MARRIAGE and family are institutions within which we have grown up, comfortable in the assumption that these are an integral or permanent part of the way our society is structured. These have endured, with some variations, over the centuries, having evolved as practical arrangements which also provide a safety net for difficult times. Yet, recent times are seeing some upheavals and radical shifts. As we look at the years and decades ahead, what changes might we see? In the face of technology-driven social turmoil, will these institutions continue to thrive or even survive?
An earlier column (‘Individualism and Identity’, Civil Society, October 2024) discussed the phenomenon of growing individualism and the countervailing movement towards group identities. An important driver of the former is the technological trend of creating new gadgets that are intended as personal or single-user devices. The best example of these is the whole host of uses — video viewing, music listening, voice calling, text messaging — packaged in a mobile handset, a form factor geared for individual consumption. Increasingly, it is also taking on a part of the role of computers — which have transitioned from room-sized “main-frames”, to PCs, to laptops and tablets, to the handset.
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MARRIAGE and family are institutions within which we have grown up, comfortable in the assumption that these are an integral or permanent part of the way our society is structured. These have endured, with some variations, over the centuries, having evolved as practical arrangements which also provide a safety net for difficult times. Yet, recent times are seeing some upheavals and radical shifts. As we look at the years and decades ahead, what changes might we see? In the face of technology-driven social turmoil, will these institutions continue to thrive or even survive?