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DAD-FLUENCERS: RIDING THE SOCIAL MEDIA WAVE
As social media continues rise in popularity, more and more parents are becoming tech savvy and turning to online platforms for advice, tips and new ideas.
From this increased use comes the modern day ‘influencer’; a social media mini-celebrity with a large social media following and an often niche focus area, and listed in the Oxford Dictionary as “a person with the ability to influence potential buyers of a product or service by promoting or recommending the items on social media.” One of the niche areas in which an influencer can operate on social media is parenting.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), the younger a child the more likely that one parent of two-parent families would remain out of employment. Historically, women have been the ones to remain home and parent children. This may explain the current popularity of mummy bloggers and influencers.
Mum-fluencers with thousands and thousands of followers share things like nursery styling tips, lunchbox ideas and children’s clothing recommendations.
However, as our society progresses and becomes more equal and accepting, there is much less of an expectation for women to remain stay-at-home mums. Additionally, we are beginning to see more men remaining home with their kids while women return to work. This in turn is leading to the proliferation and increased popularity of dad-fluencers.
Dads like Melbourne-based Jarrad and Michael Duggan-Tierney post their parenting hacks, fails, and dreams with their 122,000 followers.
There are several reasons why dad-fluencers are becoming more common and building larger followings. First and foremost, the proliferation of social media in itself is encouraging the majority of society to engage in the use of social media platforms to connect with others and to promote their endeavours.
As social media becomes more and more commonplace, dads are finding themselves more efficient and able in their use of social media, therefore allowing for their social media accounts to flourish. This is a new and exciting advancement for people who have grown up in an era without modern day technology such as tablets and smartphones.
Now, parents can keep connected with family, friends and co-workers in organised and open platforms such as Instagram.
Secondly, society in its entirety is becoming more accepting of different occupational and familial positions for parents. Dads are no longer expected to be the sole breadwinners for their family, while mums stay at home and mind the house and children.
This is now considered a dated outlook and is instead being replaced by a more progressive and equal perception of how parents can raise their children. This is opening new doors in the world of gender expectations with regards to work and family life.
Gone are the days where women remain only at home. It is now not uncommon for two-parent families to decide amongst themselves what each parent would prefer to do, and how parental employment will fit in with their family and home.
Furthermore, as paid paternal leave becomes more common in Australia, familial and societal stereotypes are being destroyed and restrictive societal expectations are disappearing. A different branch of this more open-minded and progressive society is the widespread acceptance of different gender and sexual orientations.
Same sex parents Michael and Jarrad Duggan-Tierney are just one example of not only dad-fluencers, but also the societal acceptance we continue to see growing in Australia. Their son, Reid, was born via surrogate, and along with his parents are showing their social media followers that families come in all shapes, sizes and orientations.
Finally, as dad-fluencing becomes more popular and commonplace, it allows dads a freedom to connect with others in a way that has historically been deemed a maternal connection. With relation to statistics showing dads are less likely to be a family’s sole and full time breadwinner now than 100 years ago, dads have more time to engage with their children.
They can be more present in their child’s lives, witnessing milestones and building more meaningful connections with their children. They can also build more connections with fellow parents and provide more of a support network. Social media influencers on platforms such as Instagram often portray their lives to be perfect and without stress, mess or aggress.
However, parent bloggers are known to be more #real, highlighting parenting fails and accidents with their followers. This is a greatly beneficial improvement to society. It shows other parents that nobody is perfect, that no parent really knows exactly what they’re doing, and that that’s perfectly okay and they are still good parents.
While dad-fluencers and dads may still face disapproval or criticism, so too does everyone that puts themselves out into the public sphere. The rise of dad-fluencers in a typically female-led niche industry is a really positive step for parents and society in general.
Promoting a more accepting and inclusive environment for parents and kids alike is good for families as a whole, and family members as individuals. It raises more inclusive and accepting kids, which will lead our country to a greater and more equal future.
