Emotion, Social Support, and Social Comparison in Online Mommy Platforms: A Content Analysis

Social networking sites, blogs, and online forums are attractive sources for parents, and particularly mothers, seeking information, social support, and confirmation for parenting choices. Building on literature that explores the functionality of online spaces for support and introducing the potential for social comparison that these spaces present, a content analysis of 984 posts and 1730 associated comments selected from a 6-month span of Facebook mom groups, large online parenting forums, and popular mommy blogs identified the frequency and type of support (instrumental, informational, emotional) and comparative content (judgmental, validating, neutral) shared on these sites. Given that emotions are often connected to parenting experiences as well as aspects of social support and comparison, this content analysis also examined dominant expressed emotions. Coding revealed that emotions were communicated in more than half of posts and more than a third of comments, with joy being the most prevalent emotion in both. But, overall, posts on all three platforms were more negatively than positively valenced. Further, when social comparisons were made in posts, they tended to be downward comparisons (critical or judgmental) and linked with expressions of negative emotions. This work lays the conceptual and empirical groundwork for future research testing the effects of engagement by mothers on these platforms on health, well-being, and relationships