Dissecting the Social Construction of Motherhood: The Use of Facebook and How it Affects the Maternal-child Relationship

Abstract

This virtual ethnographic study explores the social journeys of motherhood, and how technology impacts the social journey. The goal of this research production is to dissect the mother's use of Facebook and to uncover if it has an interference between the maternal and child relationship. This is a non-participant observation study that observes the social structures of motherhood within a social platform that involves mothers and caregivers their right to socially exercise themselves within a social group. Through endless literature research, the interpretation of parenting and technology, moms filling different social gaps and the influence of social media on motherhood; allowed curiosity to disclose if there is an interference in the reality performance of motherhood between the mother and child. The data recorded and observed allowed analysis on how mothers interact with each other in virtual environments in order to gain an understanding of the contextual atmosphere. The results indicated logic behind the mothers use of Facebook forum's for the purpose social identity along with the concept of performative motherhood which was facilitated through Erving Goffman's theories. However, this study contained many limitations within its data structure. This derives from the inability to contextualize if moms were withdrawing from parenting to participate within the social forums. This was not incorporated into the methodology which formed difficulty to find conclusions.