There are days when it seems as though I spend more time talking to my husband on the phone or communicating via e-mail than actually talking in person. We get so busy during the week. Sometimes, sending a quick e-mail to him at work becomes the most efficient way to relay information about the kids, the household or perhaps what to cook for dinner.

We’re not the only ones, obviously. According to a Washington Post story published earlier this week, more families “have compensated for the stress and hurry of modern life with cell phone calls, e-mails, text messages and other new forms of communication.”

And the new technology is actually making families closer, according to a report published by the Pew Internet and American Life Project.

"There had been some fears that the Internet had been taking people away from each other," Barry Wellman, a sociology professor at the University of Toronto and one of the report authors, told the Washington Post. "We found just the opposite." Wellman said families appreciated the innovations because "they know what each other is doing during the day."

How much time do you spend talking on the cell phone, texting or sending e-mail to the people in your household?

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