As nations around the world develop and change from traditional to modern lifestyles, more and more people live alone or with much smaller families. What are the causes of those trends and what kinds of effects will they have on the society?
The Nuclears Around the World
A family consisting of only parents and their sons and daughters is called a nuclear family. This type of families is the opposite of traditional families which usually includes grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and siblings. In developed societies, the trend is already leaning toward nuclear families with less family members, or single families. The rapidly changing trend can be the result of following three reasons: the shift of the era, the higher status of women in the society, and more self-centered atmosphere.
To begin with, the era has changed from agricultural society to more information based society. This means that the family does not require a lot of members who could help out with the tough work at farms or plantations. In the past, many families had a family farm where they produced crop to support themselves financially, or to be self-sufficient. No other family members worked outside the farm. Rather, they shared the work at the farm, and also shared the profits and produces that they gathered from farming. However, the society began to change as many breakthroughs were made, and the era shifted from agricultural to industrial, then to informational. This led many people all around the world to pursuing more intelligence based occupations rather than harsh farming. In addition, due to this change, the need for having large number of family members greatly decreased, as they have no reason to keep all these family members in one place. Thus, the families around the world are choosing to be in a smaller group in a society where they can indulge in diverse work.
Secondly, the status of woman markedly increased compared to the past. This may not seem very relevant to the trend of going toward smaller families, but it actually has a strong connection. In the past when traditional type of families was prevailing, women handled all the work in the house. They cooked, did laundry, cared for children and elderly, as well as doing field work. They were usually not educated enough to look for a different job other than being a housewife. Their workloads at home did not even allow them to choose another life. However, as time passed, women became more educated and they came to have a say in the house. It is not a duty for them to do all the housework anymore. As the active constituents of the society, they began to build a life centered around themselves, not their family. This idea encouraged many women to be in a smaller family, or to stay single to pursue their dream.
Lastly, the members of the society are becoming more self-centered. Most parents now want only their children to be better off than others, not every other family member. It is similar to single families who choose to stay single because they want what's best for themselves only. This selfishness came to thrive in the society as traditional cultures slowly disappeared. Traditional cultures emphasized the relationship between others. People in the neighborhood shared what they had with each other, and they tried to help others in times of difficulties. On the other hand, the neighborhood in modern society is much colder and lifeless with not so many people greeting their neighbors when they encounter. In the same sense, even family members become less connected to one another, disconnecting the before-keen relationships between families to only focus on the closest members of the family, or only themselves.
In brief, many factors led to the end of traditional families. Currently, it is hard to find traditional large-sized families around us due to the reasons previously supported. Even though it was the change of the society that led to this consequence of nuclear families being prevalent all around the world, it is still regrettable to see all the families losing contact with each other, and the family-centered atmosphere fade away. Why not calling your grandparents or your aunts and uncles to ask how their lives have been tonight?
No comments:
Post a Comment