The extended family is less important now than it was in the past. Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer

It goes without saying that in this complicated and progressive world where we live, human beings have experienced a dramatic change in every aspects of their life, their family relationships in particular. Every one of us might react differently when being asked about the importance of our extended family and whether they are important to us as they used to be in the past. I strongly hold the opinion that the extended family is not as important as they were in the previous era. To substantiate my points of view, two significant reasons are being explored in the following paragraphs. To begin with, it is taken for granted that each family consists of an inextricably interconnected web of relationships, the degree of their importance has declined over past few decades. One of the most conspicuous reasons that can be attributed to this decline is that nowadays people are more self-sufficient and self-centered. No more can we observe a situation in which the extended family is a pivotal point and the success and failure of a family is no longer in the hands of anyone but itself. It is apparent to everyone that in the past, people heavily relied to one another not only in terms of psychological issues but also on assortments of other considerations. However, the new generation and most of the people who live in the twenty first century are inclined to stand on their own two feet and to be totally independent even making important decisions. To put it in a more vivid picture, my father once explained that in the past the extended family was at the heart of every gatherings and decision making. For instance, when my parents were about to get married, a meeting was held among all of the relatives in order to evaluate the accuracy of this decision. Conversely, when my I got married, no one interfered in my decision making process and since it was my personal life, they just wished me luck and happiness. Although the extended family of mine is highly respected and very important to me, they did not have the right to dictate their own opinion on me. Furthermore, with the genesis of technology and the internet in particular, individuals have enjoyed a revolutionary change in their lifestyle, relationship, and means of entertainment. It is apparent that people preferences have also changed thanks to the galloping rate of entertainments everyone being exposed to. No longer do people spend their leisure time with their family member let alone their extended family or distant relatives; instead they are more inclined to surf the net and make themselves occupied with the endless world of the internet. Under such a circumstance in which people have replaced hanging out with their extended family to the technology, it is inevitable that their importance is decreased. To illustrate, in Iranian context, the gathering of extended family especially on various occasions such as the Yalda night-the first day of winter-has been prevalent and its importance was undeniable. During Yalda night, every family gathers together in order to celebrate the beginning of the winter and they have fun talking to each other with special foods being served. However, nowadays people prefer to be alone in this night and congratulate one another through the internet not in person. In conclusion, having considered the aforementioned reasons into account, I strongly believe that the importance of extended family has pale in comparison to the prevalent thought and perception of todays’ people. During the process of evolvement human beings have been more autonomous and independent; moreover, they have found other ways to spend their free time. In such case the importance of extended family is blurred.