One-third of Brits prefer catching up with family online

Look who’s talking - or not. Nearly a third of Brits use cell phones, e-mail and social networking sites like Facebook to communicate with their loved ones, rather than actually sitting down to converse, according to a study reported in the Daily Mail.

One in five people surveyed say they keep track of their family by checking Facebook and MySpace, and 30% of the participants believe their relatives know more about their life because of social media and digital technology.

The study of 3,000 people, commissioned by the makers of Flip MinoHD camcorder, revealed that the average Brit engages in just six face-to-face conversations with other family members per week.

More than 1 in 10 say they don’t ever have meaningful face-to-face talks with their relatives. They turn to Twitter to talk to family members, leaving an average of two posts weekly for their kin, the study reports. They also make half a dozen phone calls each week to family members to catch up.

"It seems people are now more likely to send an e-mail to a relative filling them in on their daily activities, or even leave a post on their Facebook wall," said Gareth Jones, UK and Ireland region manager for Flip Video at Cisco. "Modern technology has made it easier than ever to keep in touch with our friends and family."

--BY Rosemary Black