Multitasking families

Does your family life feel like this too? A new study by Yahoo and OMD Research (of households in 16 countries!) found that families are packing 43 hours of activity into one day, and technology appears to be part of both the reason and the solution. "Multitasking aided by technology extends most people's day by several hours," ClickZstats reports. It adds, though, that "despite the overlapping activities, 72% of families with children eat dinner together each day." Not that all family communications is offline. "Seventy percent of survey respondents say technology helps families stay in better touch. Mobile phones are a means of communication for 29% of families, and instant messaging for 25%. These emerging technologies bring children to the forefront as decision makers within the family unit." In its coverage, Ars Technica quotes OMD CEO Joe Uva as finding that "it's clear that within the '43-hour day,' families are making concerted efforts to spend time together and to live out a new family value that says 'we control technology—it does not control us.'"