ABSTRACT
The “digital age” provides a new context in which to study families (Wartella and Jennings 2001). Information technology and mass media have significantly affected military families (Ender 2005). The impact is most acute during military deployments, especially during war (Ender and Segal 1996). Communication media may challenge military sociologists to reconsider fundamental ideas about military families during deployments.
We adopt Segal’s (1986, 1989) application of “greedy institutions” to military families as the theoretical framework, as have most social scientists for the past 20 years. Building on Kanter’s (1977) earlier and more general agenda-setting work and family analysis, which posited the inextricable link between work and family life, Segal outlined the range of demands on military family life. Focusing primarily on spouses and soldiers, she linked four crucial levels of analysis: institutional; organizational and structural; interpersonal; and individual. Segal applies Coser’s (1974) more general “greedy institutions” conceptualization to the demands of military family life in which the military and the family expect the soldiers’ relatively total devotion. In the military, two societal institutions (the family and the military) intersect and make significant demands on the service member. Soldiers are normatively restricted, with significant social controls on their lives, especially during wartime deployments. Family devotion and loyalty are normative as well. In many cases conflict arises as the soldier tries to maintain fidelity and allegiance to both; thus, greediness on the part of both institutions has remained acute, especially during times of war. Present-day communication and mass media have become ubiquitous conduits that may foster expanded greediness beyond even the immediate military family. The availability of mass and communication media have generated new opportunities and new demands.
