A Rapid Review of the Technology Megatrend’s Risks and Benefits for Families: Examining Assisted Reproductive Technology, Communication Technology, Digital Interventions, and Remote Work

In 2020, the United Nations identified four global megatrends shaping how people live. Among these megatrends, technology strongly influences families worldwide, especially through assisted reproductive technology, communication technology, digital interventions, and telecommuting. The current rapid review aimed to synthesize available literature on how, in different ways, these four technology-related areas impact families’ formation and characteristics and family members’ health and well-being, highlighting specific risks and benefits. New ways of accessing parenthood, new forms of communication, increased access to health services, positive and negative effects on physical and mental health, changes in education, risks related to privacy, modifications in job activities, and the balance between work and family time are some of the outcomes related to technological changes described in the current review, together with family-oriented implications.