In this master’s thesis parents' experiences of using social media for parenting purposes are explored. In the theoretical part, I first shed light on the characteristics of life in a postmodern society and then examine changes in family life, parenting characteristics, and contemporary societal expectations of parents. Subsequently, I focus on the internet and social media, their impact on family life, and both the benefits and challenges of their use in parenting. Finally, I explore the concept of life satisfaction, the factors contributing to family life satisfaction, and the link between social media use and overall well-being. In the empirical part, through interviews with four mothers of pre-school children and four mothers of school-age children, I investigate the characteristics of their use of social media for parenting purposes. I used semi-structured interviews to obtain in-depth answers. The findings show that most mothers find social media attractive and that it plays an important role in their daily lives. Social media provides them with quick access to information related to parenting challenges at various developmental stages, purchasing baby products, and child health. In addition, using social media allows them to connect with other parents, share their own experiences, and learn about the experiences of others, which gives them a sense of community and reassurance in facing parenting challenges. Although social media offers a lot of useful information, many of the interviewees find it overwhelming. The results further suggest that the public image of parenting on social media is presented in a rather idealized way. This has contributed to unrealistic expectations for both groups of interviewees, particularly at the beginning of their parenting journey. Such idealized images go hand in hand with comparison, which proved to be one of the biggest challenges for mothers of pre-school children using social media. The link between social media use and overall satisfaction was not explicitly expressed by the interviewees, but two mothers of pre-school children mentioned that using social media in the evening reduced the time spent with their partner.
|