The advent and proliferation of personal computers, the widespread adoption of cell-phones, and the invention of the internet--not to mention the great abundance of literature of child-rearing--have all had a visible impact on how parents interact with their children. From my perspective, the influence of families becomes less.

While admittedly we spend the major of our early years with our families and are heavily influenced by them, we eventually leave the nest and are more affected by our peers and our community. When we were younger, our parents and other relatives are the ones that we spent the majority of our time with. Hence due to both our genetic predisposition and our social interactions, we share a lot of the same values and tastes as our relatives. We learn how to face the world and deal with various situations. Many say that we inherited our temper from our parents. It is easy to see why when we were around them so much.

But as we grow older, we begin to shift our time away from family and more towards our peers. Teenagers, especially, develop a stronger bond with people of their same age and begin to emotionally distance from their parents. Such is the inevitable result of adolescence. Children during this period are continuing to learn more important life lessons, but they do so often from the activities they engage in with their friends. The successes, the mistakes, the happy and sad times all becomes part of the education for them. A typical child in high school spends nine hours a day with his classmates and then another three if he engages in after school activities or sports. And when children become adults, the time spent with family decrease even more dramatically.

Young adults move off to new cities and begin to be actively engaged in their community. Those who have developed a strong sense of self will seek out people of common interests and form bonds with them. This later stage of learning is perhaps the most significant, because it is during this period that we solidify the identities that will last us for a lifetime.

In conclusion, although people inherit gene, preference and temper from their families, more impact is from peers and learn from community.