Why Facebook Mom Groups Can Be So Toxic
As many parents are aware, there are several subjects that often elicit heated discussion, including co-sleeping, homeschooling, immunizations, parenting techniques, and how to give birth.
As a result, what begins as a simple query becomes into a collection of harsh and condemning remarks, all because someone believes that their method of operation is correct.
This situation may be tremendously harmful to anyone’s mental health and wellbeing, but it can be particularly harmful to new mothers who are already having a hard time adjusting to their new normal and to working and single mothers who are juggling it all.
Mom Influencers and Instagram Can Have the Same Effect
The exaggerated postings produced by influencer mothers who post pictures of their picture-perfect situations simply serve to amplify the harmful effects of social media. It might be simple to feel like a failure in your hectic life when you see this person’s perfectly coiffed hair, their organized and well-behaved kid, and their immaculate house.
Let’s be clear: Nobody posts about spitting, screaming matches, or restless nights. Even if they are aware of this, these immaculate representations nonetheless put parents under pressure to perform above their capabilities. Feelings of guilt, humiliation, and self-doubt may result from this.
In fact, researchers discovered that “both social comparison orientation [(the propensity to compare oneself to others)] and self-esteem mediated the association between anxiety and online involvement with InstaMums—mothers made famous by Instagram.
Engagement with InstaMums was linked to higher levels of anxiety in those who were more social comparison-oriented as well as higher levels of anxiety in people who had lower self-esteem.
