Author: Rachelle M. Chee

Author title: Rachelle M. Chee, Associate Lecturer, School of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Sciences, CQUniversity Australia

Description: Engaging with social media is an intrinsic part of modern life and everyday social interaction for new parents. Generally speaking, new parents engage with social media as a matter of routine daily activity, but during the transition to parenthood may seek more customised experiences which satisfy their social and informational needs. Parents perceive an array of benefits to utilising social media when caring for an infant; however, both clinical care providers and parents recognise that to do so is not without risk. Childbirth educators and clinical care providers play a vital role in partnering with parents to navigate the abundance of parenting content on social media, and in the optimisation of parents’ experiences of social media use during a time of transition and vulnerability.

Keywords: Social media, parent, infant, education, new parenthood, online peer support, virtual peer-support networks, transition to parenthood, fact-checking, online bullying, portrayals of motherhood, parenting self-efficacy, Gen Z, Millennials, Gen Y, TikTok, online misinformation

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