Abstract

The study investigates the role of information and communication technology in sustaining parental relationships among OFW families. Specifically, the study sought to identify the demographical traits of the respondents in terms of age, gender, civil status, and religion, determine the communication tools used and how it is used concerning its frequency of use, purpose, and features. Lastly, the study would like to figure out whether there is a significant relationship between ICT usage and the degree of closeness of the family. This study is based on the Bowen Family Theory in which the family is perceived as a single emotional unit and the Media Richness Theory explains that more decadent, personal communication mediums such as video calls are generally more effective for communicating than less rich media. Respondents were chosen using purposive sampling based on the criteria that they are bonafide students of Laguna State Polytechnic University, one or both parents are working as overseas Filipino workers for at least one year, and they are still in contact with their parents. Results revealed that communication tools that OFW families mostly use are laptops and cellular phones. Facebook is the most popular online platform for communication because of the variety of features that the application has. The study also revealed a significant relationship between the perceived roles of communication tools with the degree of closeness of the family.

Keywords: information and communication technology, overseas Filipino workers, parental relationships