The rise of mum/mom/mommy bloggers has been a worldwide trend, with some mum bloggers now earning a significant income from their personal ‘brand’ and role as social media influencers. As ‘prosumers’ (i.e. consumers turned producers), successful mum bloggers are often courted by international brands and organisations. While mum bloggers were early adopters in the digital landscape, everyday (non-blogging) mums have also embraced technology and have become avid users of social media, in particular Facebook, and are sometimes influenced by the bloggers they follow. Invariably, as pro-am mothers, mumpreneur bloggers use their families (in particular, their young children) as characters in their story posts and also co-opt them in sponsorship and other money-making opportunities. These posts help the audience identify with the bloggers, increasing their social capital and influence. Everyday mothers may also follow the example set by the mumpreneurs, sharing images and stories related to their offspring, sometimes from the first ultrasound scan. This article investigates and compares the motivations, hesitations and justifications of both influencer mumpreneur bloggers and everyday mums related to sharing their children’s images and stories.
Many mothers can find themselves increasingly isolated and overwhelmed after giving birth to a new baby. This period can be a source of extreme stress, anxiety and depression, which can not only have an economic impact on national health services, but can also have long-term effects on the development of the child. At the same time, social media use among most new mothers has become ubiquitous. This research investigates the role of social media, potentially as a mechanism for social support, among Australian mothers of young children aged from birth to 4 years. The findings indicate that participants had mixed responses to their social media use. While social support was deemed a benefit, there were also some negative aspects to social media use identified. The findings highlight the need to critically interrogate social media’s ability to act as a source of social support for new mothers.
Introduction Various forms of social media are used by many mothers to maintain social ties and manage the stress associated with their parenting roles and responsibilities. 'Mommy blogging' as a specific type of social media usage is a common and growing phenomenon, but little is known about mothers' blogging-related experiences and how these may contribute to their wellbeing. This exploratory study investigated the blogging-related motivations and goals of Australian mothers. Methods An online survey was emailed to members of an Australian online parenting community. The survey included open-ended questions that invited respondents to discuss their motivations and goals for blogging. A thematic analysis using a grounded approach was used to analyze the qualitative data obtained from 235 mothers. Results Five primary motivations for blogging were identified: developing connections with others, experiencing heightened levels of mental stimulation, achieving self-validation, contributing to the welfare of others, and extending skills and abilities. Discussion These motivations are discussed in terms of their various properties and dimensions to illustrate how these mothers appear to use blogging to enhance their psychological wellbeing.
The rise of blogging mothers as precariat workers conducting ‘playbour’, a combination of play and labour, and as subjects of neoliberalism, requires a re-examination of virtually mobile mothers and their role in 21st century society. At the same time, public relations (PR) and marketing practitioners are grappling with how to interact and ‘work’ with these, among other, social media influencers who are increasingly seen as able to sell products and ideas through their blogs, Instagram, Facebook and other social media platforms. The relatively new relationships between PR practitioners and social media influencers raise questions of unequal power and vulnerability for both the largely amateur influencers and the PR practitioners. The relationship between the two means that ethical questions around exploitation, authenticity, professionalism and control have arisen, with both sides feeling their way in new terrain. This article uses the concepts of precarity and liminality and applies them to a group of ‘mommy/mummy/mum bloggers’, that is, blogging mothers of young children, negotiating their identities as mothers, and moving beyond their homes using social media to, in part, create a sense of belonging (but also, in some cases, to make money). The article is based on the author’s own longitudinal digital ethnography within online influencer territory, and includes mainstream and online media reports and interviews with both mum bloggers and PR practitioners. It is argued that the marketisation of motherhood within a dominant culture of neoliberalism means that practitioners may wrongly assume that mum bloggers are acting freely to engage with entrepreneurial endeavours.
This article examines the role of influencers during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the impact of the global pandemic on Social Media Influencers’ (SMIs) lifestyle and business model, using the concept of Disaster Capitalism as a springboard for discussion. Worldwide it first appeared that the global pandemic would severely impact SMI sole traders, as income from travel, luxury goods and other ‘lifestyle’ brands dried up. However, we suggest that brands and influencers themselves have pivoted to meet the COVID challenge, with some brands exploiting the opaque influence of these micro-celebrities. We further suggest that while a handful of governments and health organisations have recognised the reach and social capital of SMIs, their potential in health communication has been underutilised. We write this essay as a starting point, raising questions and calling for further research to be conducted to inform the understanding of SMIs’ role and potential as conveyors of public health information.
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