There is a growing body of work examining the 'consequences', or more accurately the inter-relationships between information and communications technologies (ICTs) and society at the microsocial (individual, household) level. The vast majority of this work has so far been focused on the US and the subsequent publications have consequently provided predominantly US-centred analyses. This book will re-dress this balance by providing analyses of the situation in Europe and is associated states and placing the analyses in the context of both European and International research and policy debates. The book uses data from a range of European countries as well as comparisons with Asia and the USA. Students and academics from a range of disciplines including sociology, business and management and new media will find this book to be a valuable addition to their reading lists.

Some relationships are within the family -- such as between parents and children, grandparents and children and between siblings -- while others are between friends. In some cases, these distinctions are blurred (Are short-term partners family members? Are family members seen as such when relations become unfriendly? Does divorce, if amicable, replace a family with a friendship?). Using quantitative, cutting-edge statistical analysis, in conjunction with a multi-disciplinary approach, the contributors to this volume address the contemporary state of and dynamics in these various types of relationships, linking these to key rites of passage such as leaving home, marriage and childbirth, to see how these stand after a period of rapid social change. The book will be of interest to scholars in a broad range of disciplines, including sociology, social policy and economics.

There is a growing body of work examining the a ~consequencesa (TM), or more accurately the inter-relationships between information and communications technologies (ICTs) and society at the microsocial (individual, household) level. The vast majority of this work has so far been focused on the US and the subsequent publications have consequently provided predominantly US-centred analyses.

This book will re-dress this balance by providing analyses of the situation in Europe and is associated states and placing the analyses in the context of both European and International research and policy debates. The book uses data from a range of European countries as well as comparisons with Asia and the USA.

Students and academics from a range of disciplines including sociology, business and management and new media will find this book to be a valuable addition to their reading lists.

Some relationships are within the family -- such as between parents and children, grandparents and children and between siblings -- while others are between friends. In some cases, these distinctions are blurred (Are short-term partners family members? Are family members seen as such when relations become unfriendly? Does divorce, if amicable, replace a family with a friendship?). Using quantitative, cutting-edge statistical analysis, in conjunction with a multi-disciplinary approach, the contributors to this volume address the contemporary state of and dynamics in these various types of relationships, linking these to key rites of passage such as leaving home, marriage and childbirth, to see how these stand after a period of rapid social change. The book will be of interest to scholars in a broad range of disciplines, including sociology, social policy and economics.