For more than a century, families have been engaging with new technologies in ways that transform how family members interact with one another and with their world.

"The Dance of Family Life and Technology: The Case of Cell Phones" is the topic of a lecture by Dr. William J. Doherty on Friday, Sept. 26, at 2 p.m. in the Fralin Auditorium on the Virginia Tech campus.

Family scholars have yet to develop systematic ways of thinking about this fascinating process, beyond simplistic ideas about whether a new technology helps or hurts family relationships. This lecture will present a new theory about how families engage with new technologies as these technologies diffuse into the culture, with both anticipated and unanticipated consequences. The omnipresent cell phone will serve as the case example.

Doherty is a professor of family social science and director of the marriage and family therapy program at the University of Minnesota. He is past president of the National Council on Family Relations. His scholarly interests include the ways that families deal with contemporary consumer culture.

This is event is part of the Glover M. and Frances Graham Trent Distinguished Scholar Lecture Series in the Center for Information Technology Impacts on Children, Youth and Families. The lecture is free and open to the public.

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