The Family of the Future

1. General

1.1. Family Member

1.1.1. A typical family will likely consist of a two parents and anywhere between 3-5 children.

1.2. Household

1.2.1. Household sizes may vary but for the most part, a home won't be anything fancy and will likely depend on the size of the family. The main purpose of the house will be to provide safety for the occupants and won't necessarily have luxurious components to it.

1.3. Technology/Resources

1.3.1. Unlike previous generations of the past, the families of this society will benefit from the presence of technology. This may include better infrastructure, weapons and other survival supplies. Specific examples may be genetically modified crops and animals, and possibly even artificial intelligence.

2. Overview

2.1. Apocalyptic Future

2.1.1. At any moment, a breakout might occur and the humans of the world might face extinction. For this reason, many aspects of the current 'modern' family would have to change, as it would not be sustainable in the environment described above.

2.2. Rapid Change

2.2.1. Most the the events will likely have a huge impact on a global scale, resulting in many changes within the world, and the lives of the people that inhabit it. With all these changes, many things will occur as a result of such a dramatic event.

2.3. Reverting Back to History

2.3.1. Many changes would need to take place. From family sizes, family structure, to the role that each member will need to do. With survival being the main goal in life at this point, many things would go back to the way they once were when comparing the modern family to the remote past.

3. Old vs. New

3.1. New

3.1.1. Whereas many things may look similar to past generations, the way people interact with one another will change. With the involvement of technology, many things will be possible, and the problems of the past can be avoided. It opens up many doors for families for develop and will be a great tool for the society to defend itself. In terms of societal views on marriage, the world would've likely evolved into a more open and diverse environment.

3.2. Old

3.2.1. To be able to survive, many things would have to return to the way they once were. This includes children adopting roles and being expected to take on more responsibilities and focusing more on the family rather than just themselves. Other things may include living closer to extended family, and having arranged marriages.

4. Theories and Explanation

4.1. Systems Theory

4.1.1. Groups work together in order to evenly distribute work loads and maximize efficiency. Like all groups, within them will be roles that need to be filled in order for everything to run smoothly. Looking at the futuristic family, this theory could be applied to the idea that in order for the survivors to survive, they need to work as a system.

4.2. Functionalism

4.2.1. Every structure has a function that meets a need of a society. They all work together to maintain social equilibrium. This is especially true when looking at a society that is trying to survive. For example, you can look at the function of a survival camp; they provide safety for the people within in, so they can live in order for them to develop and provide for the community.

4.3. Developmental Theory

4.3.1. In order for the children to grow up and become successful, they need to be taught the correct survival skills. Without the proper training, care, and learning environment, the children may not grow up prepared enough to face the problems that may present themselves and perish in the end because of it.

5. Changes

5.1. Family Structure

5.1.1. With survival in mind, there will likely be authority figures in the household. With the influences of today's society, it would likely be Egalitarian authority pattern - this would make sense as this would allow for responsibilities and duties to be shared between the heads of the family, which has typically been the parents. However thats not to say that patriarchal or matriarchal authority patterns will not exist as it will depend from family to family. Regardless of which authority pattern is used, there will be some sort of hierarchy in place.

5.2. Marriage and Realtionships

5.2.1. Data today shows that divorce rates are very high and that about half of marriages usually end in a divorce (see attachment). This would need to change in order for a family to survive as it is crucial for people to stay together in situations where bigger numbers can play a big role. Likely divorce rates would drop down and potentially cease to exist in order for humanity to survive. Nuclear families will become more popular and will in turn decrease the amount of composite families. In terms of marriage itself, the practice itself might become less formal based on the environment the people will be faced with, however a marriage custom might become more common, namely endogamy. This would likely be the case because options will likely be limited based on the fact that there will not be many people alive to choose from. On top of that, survival is the main focus point, and finding love might not be as important during this time of need.

5.3. Role of Children

5.3.1. Children will once again be required to help out with the family. Like the children who once worked on farms, children will be needed to help out with daily routines and jobs. People will likely have more children as a way to increase the population, ease workloads, and increase the chances of survival. Now, children will be an asset rather than a liability.

5.4. Role of Adults

5.4.1. Similar to children of the past, adults will have to adopt similar roles of older generations in order to survive. Adults will have to help the children grow, by providing protection, food and education for them. Other roles include working together with other adults in order to maintain a sustainable living environment. This may include having adults on guard in order to protect the settlement.

5.5. Residential

5.5.1. Like most apocalyptic societies, a smart move would be to join up with other survivors to increase the odds of survival. This may lead to small survival camps being set up, or possibly even a small fortress. Neolocal residences would become very popular and families would become closer as a whole unit with one another.