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Digital family life?

Digitization is especially responsible for much of the acceleration we see in our daily lives. At the same time, it offers many opportunities to save time in our family routine – in the case that family members have the right skills and understand how to use the potential. The central question therefore is simply: What activities do families wish they had more time for and, on the flip-side, what tasks are experienced as being annoying time wasters? Among all the activities that today’s parents report they wish they had more time for are often the ones connected to their children, their partner and their own personal wellbeing.

Conversely, parents consistently point out six time wasters: Weekly routine chores such as cleaning and tidying, the commute to work and things like dealing with administrative procedures or visits to the doctor – these are especially bothersome. They cost parents loads of time. Altogether these nerve-racking occupations average out to 25 hours a week! But digital technology development for relief in everyday life is just getting started. Today, most families use digital media for obtaining information, social interaction, communication and entertainment.

Digital tools are also already coming to families’ aid, helping them to organize and structure their daily lives. Thus, ever more parents with children in the house are using digital calendars and to-do applications to organize the many different tasks among the family, or at least to maximize transparency for each family member.

What isn’t being taken care of with digital technologies is dealing with those routine chores that have to be done every day. Two obstacles stand in the way: first, the majority of parents don’t recognize the immediate value of digital aids as such and, secondly, many parents simply don’t know about whats available. Insufficient trust, privacy concerns and costs, however, are usually only minor obstacles.