The Serious Business of Mommy Bloggers

Abstract

As their online efforts gather attention and become revenue sources, “mom bloggers” struggle to balance commercial affirmation with authenticity.

Shifting toward intensive parenting culture? A comparative analysis of top mommy blogs and dad blogs

“…That is, mothers are bombarded with cultural messages imploring them to provide their children with an array of goods and services to improve their lives. These messages penetrate parenting interactions in digital contexts in line with the growing commercialization of mommy blogging (Hunter, 2016; Song, 2016; Van Cleaf, 2015). Indeed, we find that more posts in mommy blogs are sponsored than those in dad blogs (see Table 2) and this consumerist bent is also reflected in their discourse.…”

“…Even though most narratives describe the stress of navigating educational activities and meritocracies, mothers' proposed solutions to this problem vary noticeably. Some mothers vent openly and critique intensive ideals, whereas other mothers pursue the economic affordances of blogging through partnerships with advertisers—reflecting the growing monetization of this media (Hunter, 2016; Song, 2016). Top‐ranked mommy blogs can be seen to both intensify and relieve strains related to maternal responsibility for safeguarding children's status and augmenting their social, psychological, and academic progression (Lareau, 2003; Milkie & Warner, 2014; Verniers et al, 2022).…”

“…Like mass media advertising that depicts consumption as a tool for effective and efficient motherhood (de Laat & Baumann, 2016), many mommy blogs now resemble carefully crafted commodities (Van Cleaf, 2015). This shift toward online branding can cause bloggers to have competing motivations toward maintaining self‐authenticity and growing the economic potential of their platform (Song, 2016). As such, family influencers strive to present “calibrated amateurism” that balances profitable “anchor” content with everyday “filler” content (Abidin, 2017).…”