Few parents resist sharing photos of their offspring on social networks, but sometimes there may be an "excess" of exhibition that makes even those friends who do not yet have children wonder at what photo (and even some "not too much friend" ceases to be before such a snapshot of new clothes, diapers, little teeth, baths, porridge ...
If you are one of the mothers who share photos of their children on Facebook every day, maybe you should ask yourself, why do I do it? Does it simply make me happier to exhibit the day-to-day life of my motherhood? Maybe sharing certain difficulties comforts me? Or am I simply seeking the approval of the "public"?
If the latter is the case, if what you want is to confirm that you are a good mother, how well you take care of your family (and even your home!), Be careful, because the fact of showing our children very often On Facebook it can be a sign of insecurity and perfectionism and hide a risk of depressive symptoms.
That is, perhaps a mother may want to show how well she is doing (or how beautiful her baby is) through these images, a little to self-affirm in her role as mother. But if you do not receive an interaction that you expected (for example, you have fewer likes, fewer comments ...), you may feel bad.
Do we want to be told that we are "perfect" mothers?
In this sense, a study prepared in the United States and published in the latest issue of the magazine "Sex Roles" points out that Mothers who share more photos of their children on Facebook have a higher risk of having depressive symptoms.
The study focused on a specific group of mothers (of high educational level, mostly married and who had full-time employment) and found that, those who felt the social pressure of being perfect mothers and who identified with more strength With a role of motherhood, they "exposed" their children more than others on Facebook.
That is, it is certain psychological characteristics of some recent moms that affect the way they use Facebook to show their babies. Many of these women, already in pregnancy, felt that society would only consider them good mothers if they were "perfect mothers."
These same mothers who publish photos more frequently also reported strong emotional reactions to the comments in those photos and felt bad if they did not get enough positive comments. After nine months of maternity, those mothers who shared more photos on Facebook tended to report more depressive symptoms than other mothers.
The author of the research, Professor of Human Sciences at the Ohio State University, notes that this is a "less healthy" way to use Facebook, since if a mother "posts" a photo to affirm that she is doing a "good job" and you don't get enough feedback in the sense of positive comments or likes, it will feel worse.
It is not that Facebook itself is "dangerous", but that seeking external validation that one is "good mother" through the Internet carries risks. I imagine that with the rest of social networks the same will happen, and also some of this will be in the case of people who exhibit themselves without moderation (maybe insecurity disguised as self-centeredness?).
Also, let's not forget that many of Facebook's "friends" are that, "friends" in quotes, many times they don't even know each other personally, maybe they haven't even exchanged a word in their "friendship", so it's logical that they don't They are going to tell us precisely how handsome our child is or how good we are with him or how good a mother we are. For that, there are already real friends, family, couple ... they are true "likes" and even among those who should not need "likes".
Finally, and given that the study was carried out with women who worked outside the home, it is necessary to think that the validation that is sought from the same is through motherhood and not from the work facet, for example. Is this a characteristic of our society and happens only to mothers? In the case of parents, the fact of sharing many photos of their babies could not also indicate that they seek approval in their role as parents? Or do they "validate" and recognize them for their work and do not feel that need?
In short, it is worth considering: What is behind the mothers who share more photos of their children on Facebook? Because I find this matter quite meaningful and it is one thing to "show off" children (who has never done it!) And a different one to bombard staff photos seeking some external approval.
