Social media can be a wonderful way to find a community, especially for first time mothers. Many mothers utilize social media platforms to share advice with each other and create a space for an emotional outlet. Although social media can be beneficial, the continuous exposure of motherhood content can also be negative, even stress inducing. It can also cause mothers to fall into an unhealthy cycle of social comparison and critical self-evaluation. A series of studies by Natatrai T. Joseph and her colleagues have found that long periods of social media usage involving motherhood content has been linked to an increased output of cortisol, a stress hormone, for mothers.
In the study, Joseph and her colleagues were interested in observing cortisol levels when mothers were exposed to motherhood content on social media. A technique called ecological momentary assessment was utilized to gather data. This technique allows researchers to study a person’s thoughts and behaviors when the person is in their natural environment, through self-reports or surveys.The researchers gathered 47 participants who were mothers, with the average age of the group being 34. The participants were required to report their daily social media interaction with motherhood content for 4 days and answer the daily questionnaire about the emotions they encountered during the online exposure. They were also instructed to provide saliva samples “4 times throughout the day- when they wake up, 4 hours after awakening, 9 hours after awakening, and bedtime” (Ellewood, 2022). The study reported that 55.3% of participants were on social media for at least 2 hours daily and 46.8% used online platforms at least 4 times a day.
According to the data, researchers observed that higher negative emotion during online motherhood content exposure can be associated with higher cortisol levels. Results showed that participants who reported a longer daily usage of social media had higher momentary cortisol levels. Additionally, compared to participants with less social media use, they also had higher daily cortisol output.
It is important to manage social media usage in order to preserve one’s physical and mental health. Having a high cortisol can lead to an increase in mortality risk. It can also affect children since children of mothers with high cortisol levels also tend to display similar cortisol levels. Being exposed to curated social media content can affect mental health negatively as well. Because content creators tend to post the highlights of their day and materials that may have been carefully crafted, mothers can consume such content and draw comparisons. It may make the mother feel inadequate or less satisfied with her experience of motherhood, even though social media can be far from reality. Therefore, it is encouraged to be mindful of the time spent online and to practice self-discipline if necessary.
Joseph and her colleagues provided helpful advice to those who are unsure on how to navigate online content and what a good substitution may be. For mothers who are prone to self-criticism, they suggested in-person mom groups or reaching out to family and friends when in need of support. As for mothers who still want to utilize social media for a sense of support, the researchers encouraged mothers to monitor the culture of said social media group before engaging.
Being able to share knowledge and advice easily on any platform has allowed people to feel connected to anyone all across the world. As wonderful as it can be, social media can also be a space where people curate content strictly about their best moments, especially motherhood content creators. This can influence negative emotions in viewers and increase their stress hormone levels. Interventions, such as, limiting usage of social media may be necessary in order to prevent any health or mental health risks. It is always important to put your health first and know that not everyone experiences motherhood the same - reality can be far from what people are willing to share publicly.
Reference:
Ellwood, Beth. “Mothers Who Spend More Time on Social Media Sites about Motherhood Experience Higher Stress Hormone Levels, Study Finds.” PsyPost, 2 Nov. 2022, https://www.psypost.org/2022/11/mothers-who-spend-more-time-on-social-media-sites-about-motherhood-experience-higher-stress-hormone-levels-study-finds-64206.