1 - (SYM 31) Reconceptualizing Good Parenting in the Age of Social Media: Settled Science or a Discipline out of Touch?

Today’s parents navigate childrearing in an era characterized by echoes of a global pandemic, ever-more-visible climate change (Gaziulusoy, 2020), international socio-political instability (Mitchell, 2019), and a well-documented child mental health crisis (Mohler-Kuo et al., 2021). A confluence of other factors (e.g., omnipresent electronic connectivity; Afif et al., 2018) and ubiquitous social media use (Greyson et al., 2023); more time than ever spent with children (Nomaguchi, & Milkie, 2021) who, in turn, spend less time with peers (Twenge et al., 2019); and knowledge their children’s social and financial achievement is unlikely to match their own (Chetty et al., 2017) weigh on modern parents. This environment has generated an explosion in electronic parenting advice and tools, providing an opportunity for alternative parenting movements (e.g., gentle parenting) to flourish.

Although the gentle parenting movement has received significant coverage in the popular press and from well-respected cultural magazines (e.g., The New York Times, The Atlantic), it has thrived on social media. Indeed, social media has emerged as the primary conduit for disseminating gentle parenting ethos, strategies, and endorsements (Pezalla & Davidson, 2024). A nationally representative survey study of young parents (with children ages 0 – 4) conducted by the University of Michigan found that a staggering 84% of mothers (and 69% of fathers) seek out parenting information from social media (Clark et al., 2023). An Instagram search for #gentleparenting reveals over 1 million posts, video clips, infographics, and memes. In contrast, a Psychoinfo search returns three hits, only two of which are empirical papers (the only hits also returned by Pubmed); only one (i.e., Pezalla & Davidson, 2024) is current and refers to this phenomenon. We have a prolific literature supporting that we know a lot about good parenting, but, like any other process that shapes development, equifinality is likely to apply. There is a clear research-practice gap, most evident in (a) our lack of attention to modern parenting norms and (b) failures to disseminate our knowledge.

This presentation reviews the state of the current BPT literature, highlighting (1) gaps in the research in light of the ethos of modern parenting, (2) implications for the field if we continue to ignore current trends in current parenting behaviors, (3) consideration of a reexamination of assumptions about parent-child relationships given the current cultural context, and (4) recommendations for future BPT research.