Parent Over Shoulder: How Modern Moms Use Tech Today

Many of us have had, shall we say, cringe-worthy experiences with our mothers on Facebook. This writer, in particular, experienced mixed shame and mirth when her mother posted a status saying, "I want to deactivate my account" (true and highly unfortunate story). But, according to a recent study conducted by SheKnows, plenty of mothers today are tech-savvy — in their professional lives, their personal lives, and when it comes to parenting.

The study breaks down participants into four (sometimes overlapping) groups: working moms vs. stay-at-home moms, or SAHMs, and millennial women vs. Generation X women. As you can see from the image here, millennials in particular are obsessed with their phones and would rather give up sex than say goodbye to the touch screen.

It's not particularly surprising that working moms are, in general, much more active on social media. One thing we did find interesting, though? Turns out that, while moms of all types are open to using technology as a parenting tool, SAHMs were the least nervous about the potential dangers and consequences that could have on the lives of their children. In fact, most mothers, while they did monitor their children's activity on social media and on their phones, felt that the long-term effect of technology was more positive than negative. SAHMs from Generation X were the most likely of any group to share content about or images of their kids on social media, whereas millennials were most likely to talk about their vacations, and working moms about the meals they'd made.

Ah, yes. Social media sadness. The dreaded question. One might guess that SAHMs, whose social lives are presumably more defined by their children's activities than those women with offices to go to and colleagues to consort with, would be the most prone to this modern phenomena. But, it turns out, millennials are still very likely to feel jealous over or dissatisfied by the postings of their peers.

One of the most intriguing conclusions from this study is the inference that "if the profiles of Millennial Moms are indications of how they’d like to be perceived in real life, then they are interested in being seen as individuals, users, consumers, rather than being solely identified as 'moms.'" That sounds just about right, and it's also something that makes us feel all warm and fuzzy and like we want to lean way in. Not because there's anything wrong with being perceived as a mom; but, because more and more, women are required to redefine that role and to make it bigger than it ever has been. (SheKnows)