We’re living in an era where our pre-schoolers tell us we should “…just Google it” when we don’t know the answer to something (that’s been my experience with my 4 year-old when I don’t know the answer to one of his many questions).
“Google” has become part of our vernacular. So much so that it’s become a verb. We “google” answers to our pressing parenting questions. We “google” information.
And this is why modern mums have become so reliant on technology. We’re looking for answers to our questions (and as mums we know that there are just so many questions that we have on a daily basis). And we need that information now.
Nick Jr Parents, Multi Channel Network (MCN) and Baby Center have recently released new research about how technology has impacted modern mums in today’s society. And it shed some interesting insights into how modern mums are using technology to assist them in their role as mum.
The findings showed that 59% of millennial mums (those mums who were born between 1982 and 2003), were likely to be a part of a social media group and 42% said they take advice from people in the group seriously.
But have you ever paused to think about why we revert to Google to answer our questions and solve our parenting conundrums? Why are online forums and social media so helpful for modern mums?
A couple of years ago my (wise) Mum said to me after I had my first son, “Stop reading all the information online. It’s going to confuse you even more. We didn’t have access to all this information when you were a kid and you turned out perfectly fine.”
And I agree to some extent. But the parenting landscape is different these days.
We do have access to an infinite amount of information. And we do have online support forums.
We’re relying on digital information primarily because we can. Modern mums are often time-poor and so we need quick access to reliable information. Google and online forums and social networking sites can provide this for us (and this information can be delivered to us in the palm of our hand while we sit on a bus, or wait in a surgery). We can read about how other mums have found solutions to our parenting dilemmas.
For many modern mums, that traditional family and community support networks no longer exist. Many modern mums are often not living in close proximity (or even in the same country) as their mums and extended family members. And so we revert to social media and online forums to fulfill this need to feel supported and connected. And this can be great- we can “chat” online when we’re having a difficult day, or facing a parenting challenge.
As busy mums, we’re often juggling a myriad of things. Life is busy in the modern world. And so we want to make a concerted effort to maximise any time that we do have with our children. We want what’s best for our kids. And so we revert to online information to ensure that we’re informed about the best ways to support our children’s development.
As a modern mum myself, I’m grateful for this online information and support. Dr Google has been called upon many times in my short parenting journey already (as has my Mum!) and I know that Dr Google will continue to help me in my parenting pursuits.
No comments:
Post a Comment