Author: Catherine Archer & Deborah Williams

Author title:
Catherine Archer, Senior Lecturer, School of Arts and Humanities, Edith Cowan University, Australia and Associate Investigator with the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for the Digital Child
Deborah Williams, Sessional Lecturer, School of Arts and Humanities, Edith Cowan University, Australia

Description: As professionals are aware, the transition to parenthood involves a steep learning curve for first- time parents, as they adjust to myriad changes in their lives. With most adults now also using social media on a daily basis, usually through their mobile (‘cell phone’) device, the added impact of the ever-present hand-held ‘screen to the world’ has introduced new complexities into becoming a parent. This article outlines the key challenges and benefits related to social media use for parents. We also discuss parents’ motivations to use social media and ways for practitioners to support parents. Further, we suggest parent education should now include discussion on guidelines for social media usage by parents and planning for the introduction of mobile phone technology (including social and digital media) to their children.

Keywords: social media, Facebook, Instagram, parents, mothers, mobile phones, parents and social media, parental mobile phone use, attention deficit, online parenting information, Ngala, influencer parents, momfluencers, screen time

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