Moms And Social Media

There was a really interesting study last year by BabyCenter, an online community for expectant and new moms. The study called “21st Century Mom” found that new mothers gravitate to social media sites after having a child.

How moms are using the Internet and social media today:

• Social Mom: Social Media is Mass Media for Moms. The number of moms who use social media regularly has significantly increased from 11% to 63% since 2006. Forty-four percent use social media for word-of-mouth recommendations on brands and products and 73% feel they find trustworthy information about products and services through online communities focused on their specific interests such as parenting.
• Gadget Mom: The 21st Century Mom™ is not intimidated by technology. Moms are using PDA technology to manage the hectic family schedule, digital cameras to share family life and gaming consoles to connect with their children. The vast majority of moms (91%) never leave the house without their cell phones and compared to just three years ago, are 348% more likely to use her cell phone to go online. They are considered the Chief Memory Officer in the family and over half (55%) have replaced the traditional family photo album with an online version.
• Mealtime Mom: Family dinner time is a priority for today’s moms. Ninety percent of moms say they eat dinner as a family several times a week. The Internet has become moms #1 source (77%) for recipes, higher even than cookbooks (36%).
• Dr. Mom: The 21st Century Mom™ is AAD (Almost a Doctor). Today’s mom has become the key decision maker in the health and well-being of her family. She comes to appointments armed with information and actively seeks second opinions online. She consistently taps into both expert and mom-to-mom wisdom using the Internet and social media. In online communities, children’s health issues are the leading topic of interest in online communities (91%) followed by childhood development tips (79%) and product reviews (72%).

A couple of the stats jumped out at me. I am amazed that 55% of mom’s surveyed have replaced the  traditional family photo album with an online version.  I am not too surprised that more than twice as many mom’s use the Internet to search for recipes instead if using cookbooks. That mom’s use online communities for information on their children’s health is not a surprise. That 91% of them use them, is a much higher percentage than I expected.