You may wonder how families used to spend their free time or how people avoided family reunions to be bored and monotonous without the use of technology as we do nowadays. Can you imagine yourself and your family in the living room without the power of images through television or without the way to see what is happening in the world in real-time, or just seeing a movie through a streaming platform? A lot has changed since the 19th century regarding family entertainment, many things have evolved, arisen, and expired.

Late 1800s and early 1900s

In the late 1800s and first decades of the 1900s, the family structures were often centered around the nuclear family, this means parents and their children under the same roof, in which father made the home decisions. For that reason, most of the activities to entertain were chosen primarily by the father. 

During that time, the father aimed to teach his children to be responsible, morally upright, and model members of society, so the way to entertain his family should not only be fun but enriching for each family member. Some of those ways to entertain were: reading stories, singing or listening to someone play an instrument, board games such as checkers, chess, and Parcheesi, and outdoor activities such as football, baseball, and basketball, among others.

20th Century

After WW1, it became more accessible one of the biggest movements of the 20th century, the cinema. Movies became a major form of entertainment for families, due to their novelty, it was an exciting form of entertainment, transporting audiences to different feelings and scenarios through storytelling and visuals, also it was relatively affordable for families, so this started slowly to replace other ways of entertainment such as literary readings events, circuses, and live theater.

Something important to highlight is the use of the radio. The radio played a crucial role in family entertainment. From its invention in the late 19th century until modernity, this device has evolved to continue providing experiences. Before the 50s, radio offered a wide variety of content, including music shows, dramas, comedy programs, and children’s programming. In the late 1900s and beginning 2000s, radio moved into another platform, the internet, in which other ways to share information, such as podcasting.

After WW2, television started to have more influence on family entertainment. Families gather around the TV set, creating shared experiences by watching shows, movies, news programs, and sporting events together. It was a tool not only for entertainment but also for learning and interacting.

Television has played a significant role in shaping mindsets, it introduced diverse lifestyles, cultures, and perspectives. The family model that existed in the early 20th century, is rapidly changing thanks to this stimulus. Suddenly, single-parent households, househusbands, and businesswomen started to look normal and television was responsible for spreading the diversity and complexity of modern families through different storytelling.

Now, we talk about a crucial concept that revolutionized the entertainment industry in all aspects, the internet. The internet reshaped how content is created and how families can access this content. In the late 1990s, the internet transformed the way people communicate, access information, interact and learn. During the following decades, the internet has impacted family entertainment, offering games, streaming services, music, and different platforms such as YouTube. Accompanied by the growth of the Internet, there has also been the development of different devices that have increased people's experience with the digital world. In recent years, families have more and more forms of entertainment, personalized and designed for each member of the family, regardless of age and sex.

Written by Sebastian G.