For some new moms, “momfluencers” may be doing more harm than good, new research suggests.
Research shows that idealized depictions of motherhood shared on social media, such as clean homes, happy children, and photo-perfect hairstyles and makeup, can cause anxiety and envy among some new moms. is known to increase.
new research Published in Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media decided who it was.
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Researchers at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln surveyed 464 new moms to determine whether certain personality traits make some people more susceptible to the negative effects of ideal mother images shared online. I did it.
This study showed that people high in social comparison orientation (the tendency to compare themselves to others) tend to be more negatively affected by glorified social media posts.
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Mothers with a high social comparison orientation were more likely to feel less confident in their parenting abilities after internalizing these posts.
Surprisingly, self-esteem didn’t seem to be a factor.
“We all have a tendency to compare, but some of us tend to compare more than others,” says lead researcher Sierra Kirkpatrick. stated in a statement. “If we can see how these posts are impacting mothers and whether they are more harmful to certain mothers, that can help us from a strategic health communication and health professional perspective. Masu.”
Identifying who is more vulnerable to the negative effects of social media allows experts to intervene before the negative effects begin.
Kirkpatrick, who has done extensive research on the influence of “momfluencers” and mom bloggers, also noted that the shift from photo-sharing to video-sharing has reduced the number of perfect posts.
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“I think it would have been easier with photography to capture exactly what I wanted and leave out everything else,” Kirkpatrick commented.
“It’s a little hard to make sure everything is perfect in a video. As we collect these kinds of posts for our next study, we see a growing push to show realistic depictions of motherhood. I am.”
But even videos can send some moms into a world of self-comparison and self-doubt.
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“In some ways, idealization may be making things worse for new moms. There are many examples of postpartum mothers showing off their ‘necessities.’ Really expensive stuff, like a $1,000 basket basket or a $300 bottle washer. And that can put pressure on mothers. Or a “typical day” video of a postpartum mother planning meals and cleaning the house each night. That just adds pressure.”
Another study found similar results.
A survey of 2,000 mothers found that one-third sometimes feel like they are a “bad mother” and more than three-quarters feel that social media has made them look or act a certain way. say they are under pressure (77%).
The survey also found that the majority of American moms (83%) have heard of “momfluencers,” social media influencers for moms, and have watched their content, compared to 65% of respondents. found that they felt more anxious after watching this content, and one of the respondents felt more anxious. 7 people don’t think “Momfluencer” is a realistic depiction of motherhood.
The negative impact of social media on mental health is nothing new, and it doesn’t just affect first-time mothers.
Surgeon General warns social media is causing a teen mental health crisis, experts say ‘selfie culture’ is causing people to undergo plastic surgery to look like filtered photos He warns.
