A new study looks at the psychological motivations that can influence some new mothers to post so much on social media, and the findings suggest that they could be oversharing in less-than-healthy ways.

 

一项新研究调查了可能会影响一些新妈妈在社交媒体过度晒娃的心理动机，结果表明过度分享可能并不是健康的方式。

 

"If a mother is posting on Facebook to get affirmation that she's doing a good job and doesn't get all the 'likes' and positive comments she expects, that could be a problem. She may end up feeling worse," said psychologist Sarah Schoppe-Sullivan from Ohio State University.

 

Schoppe-Sullivan and her team tracked 127 mothers in Ohio from when they were pregnant through to after their babies were born. The women were asked questions during the third trimester of their pregnancy¹ about how much they believed society expected them to be perfect parent.

 

After the birth, they were tested on how strongly they identified with their role as mothers, rating how much they agreed with statements such as: "I know people make judgments² about how good of a partner/mother I am based on how well cared for my house and family are."

 

The participants' use of Facebook was also monitored after the babies were born, including the frequency of activity and how often they uploaded photos of their babies, plus recording³ the mothers' emotional responses to their Facebook friends' comments and likes (or lack thereof).

 

The researchers found that those women who believed society had greater expectations of them as mothers – and who identified strongly with their motherhood role – were highly sensitive to feedback on their social media posts.

 

"These mothers paid close attention to the comments they got when they posted pictures of their baby," said one of the team, Jill Yavorsky. "They felt validated⁴ when they got a lot of likes and comments, but they were also more likely to feel bad and disappointed when the reaction wasn't what they had hoped."

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