O, to be a skeptic. “The family meal may be threatened with extinction but ‘High-Tech’ parents are now communicating much better with their teenagers and giving them more freedom, says child psychologist Richard Woolfson.”

The article, from Reuters, claims that because it’s easier for parents to contact their kids — by email, internet, webcam and mobile phone — their children have become more confident and communicative.

* Now get this: Woolfson’s survey was paid for by T-Mobile!