Time on social media adds to our mom stress & increases our time away from our kids.
- Children require so much care & nurturing right now. Plus you may have additional demands of extra people living in your household. As a result, most of us mothers are feeling stressed & short on time. Whether it’s insufficient time to get the laundry done, not enough time to play with the kids, too little time to yourself, or no time for other important activities, many mothers feel that there are not enough hours in the day to do everything that they need to do.
- However, recent research found that half of children queried said their parents were often distracted by their phones and/or computers. Your kids see you with your phone in your hand much of the time, & your interacting with social media gives you unnecessary stress.
- Seeing those perfect Facebook & Instagram posts by our friends puts unrealistic pressure on us. We all want to be a perfect mother, but that woman does not exist. Besides, what most people post on social media is not a completely honest picture of their life. In fact, most of our friends are not posting to social media those frustrating mom days when your kids are wild, something gets broken, someone is sick, or nothing gets done.
- The bad news is that social media use has been correlated with both depressed mood & postpartum depression (PPD). Several studies have shown that excessive use of social media correlates with depression-and-anxiety, & with PPD. An excessive use of social media is worse for new mothers. Researchers found an association between higher levels of maternal depressive symptoms & a lower proportion of posts showing photos of their baby smiling.
- Postpartum depression in young mothers increased with social isolation & lowered availability to social capital on Facebook, such as a support group for mothers in similar circumstances. Many mothers find solace in some of these support groups on Facebook.
- Here’s a challenge to lower your stress: try going without your Instagram scrolling for most of the day. You will feel better, like a weight has been lifted from you. At the very least, try to postpone your scrolling until after the kids are in bed. Consider joining that support group you think might be helpful.
