The Impact of Instagram Mommy Blogger Content on the Perceived Self-Efficacy of Mothers

Abstract

The prominence of social media in contemporary life has led more mothers to search for parenting information through various Internet and social media channels. The following study examines the impact that Instagram mommy blog content has on the perceived parenting skill of the typical American mother. In this experiment, participants were exposed to one of two types of Instagram motherhood blogger content. The first type of content did not address the struggles of motherhood (referred to as an “alpha-mom” blogger content), while the second type of content (referred to as a “realistic” blogger content) did. After reviewing the content, participants will be asked a series of Likert-type scale questions to gauge their perceived parenting skill. We hypothesized that participants who were exposed to the “alpha-mom” content would have a lower belief in their own parenting skill than those who were exposed to content from the “realistic” blogger. The hypothesis was not supported. However, we did find that participants who received some of their parenting information from Internet sources had a lower belief in their parenting skill than participants who did not receive their parenting information from online sources, regardless of the content to which they were exposed.

Mommy influencers: Helpful or harmful? The relationship between exposure to mommy influencers and perceived parental self-efficacy among mothers and primigravida

“…Firstly, mothers and expecting women like the access to personal everyday experiences and struggles of other moms (Germic et. al., 2021;Lupton, 2017;Orton-Johnson, 2017).…”

“…Even though mothers can immediately feel supported and connected by following and interacting with mommy influencers, concerns rise about the potential long-term effects of regular confrontation with the perfect representation of motherhood on mothers' own perceptions and ideas (Germic et al, 2021;Marulli, 2021). To explain this, we rely on Social Learning Theory.…”

“…This is especially the case in Western individualist societies, in which values such as independence, autonomy and freedom are central, also within motherhood (David and Khatib, 2021). These negative feelings and high pressure might impact mothers' parental self-efficacy (e.g., Germic et al, 2021;Marulli, 2021). This Mask of Motherhood, as Susan Maushart called it, is not only observable among existing mothers, but also among expecting mothers (Feasey, 2013).…”

“…According to the theory, they tend to compare mostly with the dominant peer image that they find online (Festinger, 1954), which is the "perfect Instagram mother" (cfr. Upward comparison; Germic et al, 2021;Press, 2006). When comparing themselves with an unrealistic representation of motherhood, mothers might have the feeling not being able to meet with the standards.…”

“…Findings from studies investigating the impact of online mommy content on mothers' feelings and relationships with the children are also mixed. Some studies reported a positive impact, with the interactions with mommy influencers being considered as helpful for real information, inspiration, and support in the short run (e.g., Germic, Eckert, and Vultee, 2021;Holtz, Smock, and Reyes-Gastelum, 2015;Hunter, 2016). However, other scholars raised concerns that the regular exposure to the romanticized pictures of mommy influencers stimulates feelings of uncertainty and failure among mothers and primigravida who might believe that this perfect motherhood is the norm (Archer, 2019;Bakar, 2018).…”