How Social Media Shapes Motherhood: Influencers, Expectations & Your Real Experience — with CIERA KIRKPATRICK, PhD

Send us Fan MailToday I speak with Dr. Ciera Kirkpatrick. She is an assistant professor of advertising and public relations at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's College of Journalism and Mass Communications. Ciera studies how messages in the media — like social media, advertising, and news coverage — influence individuals’ health by affecting their health-related knowledge, attitudes, and behavior intentions. After becoming a mom in 2020, Ciera became especially interested in the media's effects on new mothers. She noticed that social media was influencing her postpartum experience and her expectations of motherhood. Combining her personal experience with her expertise in media effects, Ciera began studying how social media comparisons to motherhood portrayals can be harmful to the mental health of new moms. Ciera lives in Nebraska with her husband, son, and a daughter on the way!We talk about:-what the research says-idealized motherhood-how moms compare themselves-finding out who is most susceptible-postpartum body image-where we get our health information-curating who you follow-shifting trends in contentTime Stamps1:00 Introduction3:30 idealized motherhood9:13 self-esteem & comparison16:15 health info from peers versus providers22:04 education versus entertainment32:05 overlap of the comparison33:40 how her researchers influenced her actions38:20 shift toward more organic content40:54 rapid fire questionsCONNECT WITH CARRIEIG: https://www.instagram.com/carriepagliano/Website: https://carriepagliano.comCONNECT WITH CIERAIG: https://www.instagram.com/dr_ciera_k/Website: https://journalism.unl.edu/person/ciera-kirkpatrick/Twitter: @Dr_Ciera_KLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ciera-dockter-kirkpatrick/The Active Mom Podcast — a real mom's guide to pregnancy, postpartum, perimenopause & beyond, for active moms and the professionals who help them get there.Quick-hit conversations with moms, providers, and researchers... because you don't have a lot of free time (you're probably listening at 1.5x right now).Follow so you don't miss an episode. Rate & review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ — it's how the next mom searching for these answers actually finds them. Share it with the friend who needs it.Questions or topic requests? DM me 💌