When are extended family's like extended families?

You probably hear it or see it written daily. "We are like an extended family!"
It is said by businesses, unions, community groups, sports teams, military units, church groups, social clubs,and all sorts of institutions or unrelated individuals identifying with "extended family"

However, when you hear family members talk about their extended family are they bragging? Do you hear: "It really is an extended family!" or do you hear how dysfunctional the family acts?

If acting like an extended family is something unrelated groups can be proud of, why can't actual families be proud of being part of an extended family? More important, why not actually act like an extended family?

Try a Google and or Yahoo Alert set up for "extended family". Monitor what you see for about a 4 month period. Make a journal note of how you see the term extended family used in newspapers and magazines. Listen to how others use this phrase.

I would be very interested to see what others have to say about their observations on this subject!