行動即時通訊與親子關係維繫：以臺灣遠距家庭為例

Abstract

親子分隔異地是常見的遠距家庭型態，隨著行動媒體及無線網路普及，行動即時通訊漸成為維繫親子關係的重要管道。 本研究採取深度訪談法訪問22戶遠距家庭，探討當行動即時通訊滲入遠距家庭後，親子溝通與親子關係出現何種轉變。研究發現，父母的性別差異扮演關鍵性的因素：一方面，親職的性別分工深刻影響親子溝通行為；另一方面，行動即時通訊的媒介特質與社會情境因素，也對溝通行為及親密關係產生影響。整體來說，本研究認為行動即時通訊對遠距親子關係而言是利多於弊，與過去文獻不同的是，本研究發現在傳統家庭中，行動即時通訊有助於父親與子女進行親子溝通；比起母親，父親與子女間更能感受到親密關係的改善。

Long-distance families, where parents and children live apart, are very common. With the growing popularity of smart phones and wireless networks, mobile instant messaging (MIM) has gradually become an important platform for maintaining parent-child relationships. Conducting in-depth interviews with 22 long-distance families, this thesis explores how parents communicate with their children after the introduction of MIM into long-distance families. The research results that gender differences between father and mother plays a crucial role in parent-child communication. One the one hand, gendered division of parenting deeply affects the parent-child communication behavior. On the other hand, the characteristics of MIM and social factors also affect the communication behavior and intimacy between parents and children. Generally speaking, this paper concludes that MIM does more good than harm to long-distance parent-child relationships. In contrast to the past literature, this thesis finds that MIM help fathers to communicate with their children better in traditional families. Furthermore, the enhancement of relationships between fathers and children is better than that between mothers and children.