Changing political and economic systems around the world in the contemporary era are not only reshaping countries at the macro-level, but are also deeply influencing the family in terms of how it is formed, what its composition and structure is, and the interaction between family members. In this paper, we briefly review the definition of family and how it has changed over the last 30 years. Then, we discuss some of the factors that have contributed to these changes. Among the transition of social ethos, culture and ideology, media is one of the most influential components. We pay special attention to the impact of media and its possible challenge to the well-being of the family, and offer some tentative advice on how to prepare for a millennium of new culture characteristic of the heavy use of new media.
