Families with group chats have stronger bonds, study shows

Families that communicate in group chat rooms on mobile messaging apps are more likely to have stronger bonds compared to those who don’t, a study showed Sunday.

“There is a higher chance that families with group chat rooms feel more satisfaction due to in-depth communication,” according to a report released by the research team led by Sogang University communications professor Cho Jae-hee.

“Family members who are part of such chat rooms are more inclined to accept shared family values and systems,” it added.

The study was based on a survey conducted last year of 324 users of KakaoTalk – South Korea’s most popular mobile messaging app – aged between 20 to 69.

Families without group chats tend not to communicate without a clear purpose and have a relatively weaker bond, it said.

While highlighting the improved convenience in family communication via messaging apps, the researchers warned that excessive online communication could result in a lack of face-to-face interaction in the family.

Citing a 2018 survey of 571 Koreans aged 6 to 19 that showed that they communicate only an average of 13 minutes per day with their family members, while only 53.7 percent of such respondents talk with their parents on a daily basis, they stressed the need for more communication in families.

“Healthy communication in the family can be achieved after acknowledging and overcoming hurdles that block active communication among members.”