Involuntary childlessness online: Digital lifelines through blogs and Instagram

Abstract

Platformed sociality has become an elemental part of existential processes and struggles. Previous research has shown that digital contexts offer lifelines of support and a sense of belonging based on shared vulnerabilities. By combining phenomenological and ethnographic approaches, this article explores involuntary childlessness (IC) online in so-called trying-to-conceive (TTC) contexts on Instagram and in blogs. The analysis is driven by the following questions: What are the particularities of digital lifeline communication in the context of IC? Can lifeline communication shape what is coming into being in the context of wished-for children and/or motherhood? Can (digital) life be challenged, extended, or created in this context? Drawing on interviews and online posts from 260 Instagram accounts and three blogs, I argue that digital lifeline communication in TTC environments facilitates digital existence and “digital life” as the notions of motherhood and longed-for and lost children attain a form of digital materiality through posts and discussions.

Focus on Infertility—Women’s Experiences of Using Social Media: A Qualitative Study

“…In addition, social media focused on infertility conveyed information about the feelings and experiences of other people in the same situation, which was highly valued by the women. Our findings are in line with Stenström's (2020) research results, indicating that social media might be a lifeline for women struggling with infertility. It also may be easier to write down thoughts and emotions than to talk about them (Rains, 2014).…”

Collective, unruly, and becoming

“…Participants use their posts to write lengthy texts rather than focusing on images and short captions, and the platform is chosen for TTC communication as it allows for anonymous exchanges (Stenström, 2020). We can see from numerous posts and related communication practices that not only is Instagram a part of the relationships between medical practitioners and individual patients as new information is gathered, but also that these relations are introduced anew and involve a range of patients and their different perspectives on the advice or treatments given by diff erent physicians.…”

“…Many of those experiencing involuntary childlessness (IC) turn online to exchange emotional support and experiences about fertility and fertility treatments with others (Blakemore et al, 2020;Haas, 2009;Johnson et al, 2019;Orr et al, 2017;Stenström, 2020;Stenström & Cerratto Pargman, 2021;Strif, 2005). Participants often refer to online practices that focus on fertility and pregnancy attempts as TTC (trying-to-conceive) communication or communities; thus, the abbreviation is widely acknowledged among TTC participants.…”

Existential vulnerability and transition: Struggling with involuntary childlessness on Instagram

“…Previous studies on the use of social media during IC (Harrison, 2014;Stenström, 2020;Whitehead, 2016) and fertility treatments (Johnson et al, 2019;Strif, 2005) indicate that social media are used to raise awareness, resist dominant narratives about IC, and function as ways to exchange mutual support. Studies focusing on other vulnerable groups and transitions in life, such as gender transition (Haimson et al, 2015(Haimson et al, , 2016, chronic illness (Isika et al, 2020;Sannon et al, 2019), or mental illness (Feuston & Piper, 2019) suggest that social media platforms and their affordances are used to cope and facilitate life transition.…”

“…To analyse the collected data, a combination of inductive and deductive approaches was chosen for this study. As this study is part of a two-year postdoc project, Kristina acquired familiarity with the material through the collection process, lengthy immersion into TTC communication, transcription of interviews, and the previous coding of both online material and interviews performed for a different study (Stenström, 2020). According to Braun and Clarke (2006: 86), the collection of data and immersion into the research context entails the first phase of analysis as "patterns of meaning and issues of potential interest" are identified.…”