Young Parents and Digital Technologies: Navigating Pathways to Enhance Agency for Vulnerable Mothers

Abstract

Mothering and motherhood can be a very challenging experience in the 21st century, where cultural pressures, on the one hand, and health experts’ regular parenting surveillance, on the other, continue to influence mothering decisions and practices. The socially constructed “good mother” discourses and associated pressures/influences can be amplified for vulnerable mothers who may feel marginalized from or judged by the broader society. This article presents findings from a study that involved interviews with ten young mothers and 12 staff working at a leading family welfare agency supporting young parents in Melbourne, Australia. The study examined how digital technology could promote a sense of agency for vulnerable mothers as well as barriers and enablers of accessing digital knowledge and online parenting support. In addition, the study explored how technology could assist community organizations’ staff in helping their clients better. This paper argues that, overall, digital technologies can positively influence the experience of mothering and can empower vulnerable mothers by increasing their access to various sources of support. Furthermore, our findings suggest that technology can enhance community and family service providers’ practice, opening possibilities for a more supportive relationship with clients by empowering them and increasing agency over their situation.

Keywords:

• Agency
• digital technologies
• motherhood
• surveillance
• vulnerable mothers
• welfare support

Notes

1 Australian Government online self-service portal

2 Government service which provides financial support to Australians facing financial hardship.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Farnaz Zirakbash

Dr Farnaz Zirakbash is a sociology lecturer and researcher at the Swinburne University of Technology. Her research interests include the impact of migration, particularly on Iranian women, and issues of domestic and family violence. She has a PhD in sociology and has conducted research using qualitative methods. Farnaz has extensive teaching experience on topics such as gender, power and state, and primary prevention in family violence.

Milovan Savic

Dr Milovan Savic is a Research Fellow at the Swinburne University of Technology. He studies the impact of digital and social media on interpersonal communication, social connection, and community-based programs with a focus on data literacies and digital inclusion. His research interests include digital citizenship, privacy, digital cultures, data literacies, and AI governance.

Kay Cook

Professor Kay Cook is an Associate Dean of Research in the School of Social Sciences, Media, Film and Education at the Swinburne University of Technology. Her research focuses on the impact of social policies such as welfare-to-work, child support and childcare policies on relationships between individuals, families and the state. Her work aims to provide tangible evidence for policymakers to promote humanistic reform.