Family is a great thing. I mean having one and being part of it. With the birth rate as low as it is in many Western democracies, millions of people don't have siblings. It is estimated, for example, that in Italy by 2050 two-thirds of the people will have no brothers and no sisters, and since neither of their parents will have had brothers or sisters, they will have no cousins nor uncles nor aunts either. That changes the dynamic of social interaction. It encourages a new context for people's dealings with each other. I don't know all the ramifications of this situation but I am under the impression that a lot of them are not healthy.
It appears to me that prior to the twentieth century, conversation was a highly developed art, serving as it did as entertainment. Intellects and wit were sharp, and repartee was a pastime. The twentieth century brought a wide variety of entertainments, but they were often shared with family. Social media has now transported people into virtual worlds through which these people can be distracted from the vacuum of ordinary life and immersed in a reality of their own liking. A substitution for family interaction.
By its nature, such a new world can be shut down and turned off like a light switch when a person wants free of it. Not so easily done with a family. Within a family a person needs to face problems and solve them rather than running away from them. This builds character and broadens personality.
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