Socially unbiased parenting support on the Internet: a cross‐sectional study of users of a large Swedish parenting website

Sarkadi, Anna; Bremberg, Sven

doi:10.1111/j.1365-2214.2005.00475.x

Cited by 133 publications

(137 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…This may be in part because the internet enables people to 'self-diagnose' and to 'discipline' their bodies (Parr 2002: 73). Indeed, parents form a high proportion of those who are using the internet to seek health care advice for self-diagnosis for themselves and their children, a trend reflected in the growth of the number of parenting websites (Sarkadi and Bremberg 2005). Moreover, the benefits of using the internet for disseminating parenting skills have been recognised by health professionals, aware that the resources available for teaching new parents about the day-to-day aspects of child care are limited (Alder and Zarchin 2002;Hudson et al 2003;Lamp and Howard 1999).…”

Section: Women the Internet And Empowermentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Parenting gone wired: empowerment of new mothers on the internet?

Madge

O’Connor

2006

Social & Cultural Geography

227

222

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The extension of information and communication technologies is purported to provide great opportunities for women, with the potential for empowerment and feminist activism. This paper contributes to the debate about women and cyberspace through a focus on the role of the internet in the lives of a group of technologically proficient, socially advantaged white heterosexual new mothers. The internet played a central role in providing virtual social support and alternative information sources which increased these women's real sense of empowerment in the transition to motherhood. Simultaneously, however, very traditional stereotypes of mothering and gender roles persisted. A paradox is evident whereby the internet was both liberating and constraining: it played an important social role for some women while at the same time it encouraged restrictive and unequal gender stereotypes in this particular community of practice. An examination of new virtual parenting spaces therefore has a contribution to make in understanding changing parenting practices in the new millennium.Key words: Cyberspace, internet, mothers, empowerment.3 Women, the internet and empowermentRecent research suggests that the extension of ICT (information and communication technologies) into virtually every area of society provides great opportunities for women (Cherny and Weise 1996;Kennedy 2000). It is claimed that ICT have the potential for empowering women, enabling feminist activism and resistance to male power (Harcourt 1999;Sutton and Pollock 2000;Youngs 2001). Much has been made of the support, information exchange and political potential afforded to women through online community membership (Kramer and Kramarae 2000;Pudrovska and Ferree 2004;Vehvilainen 2001) and how ICT offer new opportunities for women to develop as entrepreneurs and innovators (Martin and Wright 2005). Others suggest cyberspatial technologies can enable a radical renegotiation of gender relations and challenge patriarchal hegemony (Haraway 1985;Jenson et al. 2003;Travers 2003).However, over zealous claims of the power of ICT for transforming women's lives are not without critics (Gajjala 2003;Gajjala and Mamidipudi 1999;Mitra 2001;Woolgar 2002). Studies have shown how online discourses and practices continue to reflect and reinforce the unequal gender power relations present in onsite institutions and social conventions (Hocks 1999;Josok et al. 2003) and sexist practices abound (Cunneen and Stubbs 2000). Moreover, while the gender gap with regard to internet use is narrowing, the majority of women on the internet still continue to be white academic professionals (Travers 2003). The majority of participants on bulletin boards and listserves are also still men and men also dominate participation volumes and agenda setting even in feminist and mixed-gender cyberspaces (Gurak 2001). Recent studies suggest that effective use of the internet to increase women's empowerment may be overshadowed by its commercialization (Shade 2003) and its role in affirming norms of femi...

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Section: Women the Internet And Empowermentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Parenting gone wired: empowerment of new mothers on the internet?

Madge

O’Connor

2006

Social & Cultural Geography

227

222

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“…Mumsnet reports more than one million visitors per month and enjoys both a high level of usage and a high level of visibility in the mass media as the go-to site for accessing the opinions of British parents (Gambles 2010;Pedersen and Smithson 2010). The use of online forums for sharing parenting advice and support is a significant and growing phenomenon (see for example Sarkadi and Bremberg 2004;Madge and O'Connor 2006;Daneback and Plantin 2008). A focus on parents as experts rather than reliance on institutionally-located experts is a feature of many of these sites, and particularly so for Mumsnet (Pedersen and Smithson 2010).…”

Section: Data Collection and Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Headlice eradication as everyday engagement with science: An analysis of online parenting discussions

Hine

2012

Public Underst Sci

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This paper focuses on the way in which people deploy scientific knowledge alongside other resources in everyday interactions. In the UK headlice are common amongst schoolchildren, and treatment is viewed as a parental responsibility. Choice between treatment options lies with individual parents, with official guidance giving no clear steer. In the face of this combination of responsibility and uncertainty, users of an online parenting forum justify their actions using a variety of resources, including claims to scientific knowledge of both headlice and the action of various treatments, but also drawing on the authority of having direct experience, trust in brand-named products and generalised suspicion of “chemical” treatments. These discussions occasion expression of knowledge as part of portraying oneself as a responsible parent, and thus while they do not necessarily represent public knowledge about science more generally, they do offer a useful site to explore what people do with science.

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“…The Internet has now added to this mix and is an interesting contemporary area for the communication of science and health issues (Artz and Wormer, 2011;Shanahan, 2011;Denecke and Nejdl, 2009;Malone et al, 2004), with the majority of today's parents searching for both information and social support online (Diaz et al, 2002;O'Connor and Madge, 2004;Sarkadi and Bremberg, 2005;Bouche and Migeot, 2008;Plantin and Daneback, 2009;Johansson et al, 2010). Interestingly, many parents place high levels of trust in the health information they receive from the Internet (Khoo et al, 2008;Lemire et al, 2008;Eysenbach and Köhler, 2002).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The worries of weaning: Newspaper reporting of infant weaning and its impact on dialogue in online discussion forums

Knowles

Wilkinson

2016

Journalism

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Despite infant weaning being one of the most challenging aspects of parenting, there is uncertainty about the right time to start. This research aimed to understand the impact of newspaper reporting of weaning on parents, in particular, focussing on the coverage of a scientific report published in the British Medical Journal in 2011. Using a media analysis of weaning articles from UK national newspapers and the ‘Mumsnet’, Internet discussion forum, the analysis was able to explore how forum members had reacted to the reporting and embellished the communication of the weaning issue by adding their own personal advice and experience. The case study shows the role of discussion forums in science communication and how they can provide a new arena for studying audience effects.

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Socially unbiased parenting support on the Internet: a cross‐sectional study of users of a large Swedish parenting website

Cited by 133 publications

References 17 publications

Parenting gone wired: empowerment of new mothers on the internet?

Parenting gone wired: empowerment of new mothers on the internet?

Headlice eradication as everyday engagement with science: An analysis of online parenting discussions

The worries of weaning: Newspaper reporting of infant weaning and its impact on dialogue in online discussion forums

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