Mediated Mothering: Exploring Maternal and Adolescent Social Media Use and Social Comparison During and Beyond COVID-19

Abstract

This study aimed to explore how social media usage influenced both parent and adolescent mental health and social identity during and after the COVID-19 pandemic through the theoretical foundational lens of social comparison theory. In-depth interviews with 24 mothers of adolescent children (ages 10–19) were conducted to address the research questions. Qualitative thematic analysis of the interview transcripts revealed eight emerging themes: (1) learning and entertainment, (2) maternal fears related to content binging and cyberbullying, (3) finding connection and comfort through social media during the pandemic, (4) ongoing digital care work as lasting maternal labor, (5) iterative dialogue: platform restrictions and content curation boundaries, (6) upward and downward social comparison, (7) fear of missing out (FoMO), and (8) third-person perception (TPP). The findings show that mothers perceive social media usage as either beneficial or harmful among adolescents (their children); upward and downward social comparison via social media exhibits more dynamic mechanisms. Moreover, this study enhances our theoretical understanding by linking social media usage to social identity, social comparison, and mental health during a global health crisis.

1. Introduction

In early 2020, adolescent children, along with the rest of the world, were thrust without warning into the surreal experience where “every day is Sunday” (Tyminski, 2021). School and social life ground to a halt amid a global public health emergency. As COVID-19 lockdowns set in, digital platforms rapidly became lifelines for socializing, learning, and coping with uncertainty. This season was deemed “one of the most critical periods in world history when all aspects of public life were heavily affected” (Mohtasham et al., 2025, p. 23). Although the restrictions no longer exist, the pandemic permanently altered family dynamics and adolescent media habits, ushering in a new era of hyper-digital engagement and long-term mental health consequences. For instance, research since the pandemic has highlighted “enduring mental health implications of increased digital engagement” (Mousoulidou et al., 2024, p. 1). The literature emphasizes how increased social media use of adolescents and young adults during the global pandemic and in the years after has influenced their behaviors in both physical and mental contexts (Barqawi et al., 2023), leading to the need for more research.

Data from the Office of the Surgeon General (2023) and American Academy of Pediatrics (2023) confirm what many families intuitively observed: screen time among youth increased dramatically during and after the pandemic, and concerns about mental health, isolation, and social comparison have only intensified. Social media platforms, particularly those optimized for rapid, visual storytelling like TikTok and Instagram, remain central to adolescent identity formation and peer interaction (Y. Wang & Nicoletti, 2025). For parents, particularly mothers who bore the brunt of caregiving burdens during the crisis, social media became both a tool for connection and a mirror reflecting societal pressures, idealized parenting, and fear of missing out (FoMO).

As time passes and more longitudinal insights emerge, critical questions arise: How do the media habits and identity struggles forged in a time of crisis continue to shape families today? In what ways have the patterns of social media use adopted under duress evolved into lasting digital routines, shaping how mothers and adolescents engage with content, construct identity, and navigate comparison in a still-fragmented social world? Notably, screen time among tweens and teens not only surged during the pandemic but has remained high in its aftermath (Melinda, 2022). According to the Common Sense Census media use report, average daily screen time in 2021 was 5 h and 33 min for tweens (ages 8–12) and 8 h and 39 min for teens (ages 13–18), excluding time spent on school-related activities (Rideout & Robb, 2022). The latest report in 2025 highlighted that gaming time has surged 65% in four years, and one in five children use mobile devices “for emotional regulation, mealtimes, or to fall asleep.” However, parental supervision varies significantly by platform (Common Sense Media, 2025).

These numbers represent a significant increase in screen time activity, suggest that the digital behaviors adopted during COVID-19 have become lasting routines, and accentuate the need for thoughtful guidance, policies, and tools to help families navigate the digital world. The continued normalization of high screen time has renewed national concern over its influence on adolescent mental health, particularly as young people report higher levels of anxiety, depression, and social disconnection (Office of the Surgeon General, 2023). Thus, understanding how these behaviors evolved during crisis is critical for addressing the needs of youth in a post-pandemic digital landscape.

The current study explores these questions by examining maternal perceptions of social media use among adolescent children and themselves during the COVID-19 pandemic. Grounded in social comparison theory, this qualitative research study investigates how mothers navigated digital parenting, emotional labor, and their own screen use as both observers and participants in their children’s online lives. The findings offer a valuable lens not only into crisis-era behavior but also into enduring patterns that continue to inform the digital landscape of parenting and adolescence in a post-pandemic reality. As public discourse turns toward regulating digital platforms and reconsidering diversity and inclusion efforts in education and media, understanding the long tail of COVID-era media behavior is both timely and necessary.

Research has revealed that adolescents are particularly vulnerable to experiencing poor mental health effects from increases in screen time and decreases in physical activity, including increased social media usage, which many engaged in during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns (Campbell et al., 2021). On the other hand, Jacqueline Nesi, an assistant professor of psychology at Brown University who studies technology use in youth, reminded communities to consider both sides of the issue: “There’s such a negative conversation happening around social media, and there is good reason for that. However, it’s important to realize there can be benefits for many teens” (Weir, 2023, p. 46). Still, educators and parents continue to grapple with finding a balance for technology use at home and in classrooms in the aftermath of the pandemic, which had a “profound” influence on physical and mental health (Holmes et al., 2020). However, little research has fully investigated the longer-term mental health influences that COVID-19 had for adolescents, particularly considering increased digital engagement via social media in lieu of physical interactions with friends and classmates, which instigated long-lasting media habits for this generation. Similarly, more research is needed to understand mothers’ perceptions of their adolescent children’s social media use. Notably, even prior to COVID-19, research suggested that “it is not only the actual impact of social media on family systems that matters, but also parents’ perceptions about it and how much they feel able to manage their and their children’s social media use without damaging their family relationships” (Procentese et al., 2019, p. 1).

Early research into the pandemic lockdowns showed that mothers, as well as their children, struggled with mental health as they attempted to balance work and parenting—often with little to no childcare support. Popular news headlines declared working mothers to be “in crisis” (Grose, 2021), with women “shouldering more of the burden and reporting greater levels of psychological distress, anxiety, and depression” (Taylor et al., 2021). Notably, 58% of mothers scored moderate-to-high risk for developing a stress-related physical illness due to their stress levels during the pandemic (Taylor et al., 2021). Das (2020) identified various challenges facing new mothers during this “digital pivot” necessitated by COVID-19, including but not limited to: heightened pressures, maternal isolation, halted routine contact with healthcare providers, family, and peer networks, relationship stresses, and increased anxiety.

Parents who engage more frequently with social networking sites (SNSs) are more likely to use them for monitoring and connecting with their adolescent children, suggesting that increased parental SNS use may encourage greater involvement in adolescents’ online lives (Doty & Dworkin, 2014). Thus, emerging research during COVID-19 illuminated the need for more inquiry into how social media usage during pandemic isolation affected both mothers, as primary caregivers, and their adolescent children—specifically, did social media make individuals who were physically isolated feel more connected, or did social media induce mental distress and exacerbate feelings of isolation?

Using social comparison theory as the theoretical foundational lens, the purpose of the research was to examine the social media usage of mothers and adolescents during and immediately following COVID-19 to better understand how digital communication tools compensated for, supplanted, and/or poorly substituted for face-to-face interactions during isolation. Moreover, through hour-long maternal interviews we explored how mothers of adolescents perceived that social media usage affected each member of mother-child dyads in terms of social comparison (if at all). This current study is significant because further insight is needed to more fully understand the influence that social media has on family dynamics and mental health and how increased social media use influenced mothers and their adolescent children, both positively and negatively, during this public health crisis and disruption to routine and normalcy.

1.1. Virtual Interactions via Social Media

Social media has emerged as a critical tool not only during health crises like COVID-19 but also in other contexts of prolonged uncertainty, including natural disasters (Houston et al., 2015). In such times, platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook offer connection and coping mechanisms, particularly for adolescents who may struggle with identity development and emotional regulation under stress.

Moreover, social media plays a critical role in meeting individuals’ needs to understand themselves, enhance positive distinctiveness, and feel supported or connected (Fujita et al., 2018), and has been found as a helpful coping mechanism for mental health issues (Griffiths et al., 2012). On the other hand, studies have found that negative feelings such as loneliness and fatigue increase based on the amount of time spent on social media (Aalbers et al., 2019). A higher level of perceived stress was positively associated with problematic social media use (Hou et al., 2017). In this sense, individuals experiencing anxiety and isolation caused by the pandemic may have used social media in different ways to protect or restore their positive social identity, which had been damaged by reduced face-to-face social interactions. One such common use of social media is social comparison. Particularly during COVID-19 when different regions and states, and even different community and familial groups within the same state, adhered to varying levels of social isolation and restrictions during the pandemic, we posit that social comparison via virtual connectivity is an important phenomenon to explore for both mothers and their adolescent children.

1.2. Social Comparison Theory (SCT)

Social comparison theory (SCT) posits that individuals regularly engage in comparing themselves with others based on their motive for self-evaluation (Festinger, 1954; Hogg, 2000). Social comparison allows one to fulfill functions such as “providing useful information about where one stands in one’s social world, feeling better about oneself, and learning how to adapt to challenging situations” (A. P. Buunk & Gibbons, 2007, p. 16). In the social media context, individuals have more opportunities to engage in social comparison with both in-network friends as well as celebrity influencers (Verduyn et al., 2017). Research has demonstrated the significant associations between social comparisons on social media and mental health (e.g., depression, anxiety, and stress) (Feinstein et al., 2013; Vogel et al., 2014). Notably, comparing oneself with others can be either upward or downward. Upward comparison occurs when individuals prefer to compare with others who are thought to be better off to improve their self-esteem (B. P. Buunk, 1995). Downward comparison happens when individuals compare themselves with less fortunate or less competent others (B. P. Buunk & Schaufeli, 1993). Vogel et al. (2014), in their studies on Facebook users, found that the frequent use of social media increased exposure to upward social comparison, which in turn lowered self-esteem.

1.3. Third-Person Effect, Third-Person Perception

As researchers continue to explore the nuanced psychological impacts of social media use, especially during times of crisis, it is important to consider not only how individuals perceive themselves but also how they perceive others. Many studies focus on direct self-experiences, and first-person effect (FPE) occurs when individuals believe that media effects impact them more than others, leading to a first-person perception (FPP), which research suggests may underlie certain behaviors (Davison, 1983). On the other hand, another important dynamic emerges: the tendency for individuals to believe that others are more influenced by media than they are themselves. This phenomenon is known as the third-person effect (TPE) (Davison, 1983), or more specifically, third-person perception (TPP) when referencing individual beliefs about comparative susceptibility. In the context of parental perceptions, this framework is especially valuable.

Recent work highlights that social comparison in digital environments is increasingly driven by exposure to algorithmically curated content and influencer culture. These are factors that intensify both upward and downward comparisons (Nesi et al., 2022). These dynamics may intensify pre-existing mental health vulnerabilities, especially in crisis contexts when in-person support systems are compromised. Considering the influences of social comparison on mental health, the study further explored how social media use has affected mothers (primary caregivers) and adolescents through social comparison during the COVID-19 pandemic. SCT was utilized as the foundational theoretical perspective for this qualitative study; however, the third-person effect which helps to answer the following overarching research questions related to each member of mother-adolescent dyads also arose as salient:

• RQ1: How do mothers perceive their adolescent children’s engagement with social media and coping mechanisms during and after COVID-19?
• RQ2: How do mothers of adolescent children perceive their own use of social media during and after COVID-19 in relation to their regulatory coping behaviors concerning their children’s social media engagement?
• RQ3: In what way(s) was social comparison identified in both maternal and adolescent social media use during COVID-19?

2. Materials and Methods

2.1. Recruitment and Sample

This qualitative study received approval from the University of Mississippi’s Institutional Review Board (Protocol #22x-072). Participants were recruited using purposive sampling, a method well-suited for qualitative inquiry where the goal is to obtain rich, detailed accounts from individuals who have experienced the phenomenon under study (Palinkas et al., 2015). In this case, mothers of adolescent children aged 10–19—defined by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child as the age range of adolescence—were identified as key informants capable of offering valuable perspectives on social media use and family dynamics during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Recruitment was conducted via outreach in Facebook parenting groups and flyers placed in local businesses in a Southeastern U.S. college town. As participants were interviewed, some recommended other mothers who met the eligibility criteria. Although often referred to as snowball sampling, these recommendations remained within the boundaries of purposeful sampling since inclusion was not based on random chains but rather on predetermined criteria and research needs (Etikan et al., 2016).

The research team—comprising scholars from racially and culturally diverse backgrounds—was intentional about connecting with participants from a variety of racial, socioeconomic, and geographic contexts. Efforts were made to ensure the inclusion of mothers with differing caregiving experiences, digital engagement levels, and household compositions. Ultimately, 24 mothers participated in the study. While the sample skewed toward white, middle- to upper-income participants with at least a bachelor’s degree, this limitation is acknowledged and discussed further in the study’s limitations section.

The decision to use a relatively small sample size aligns with the goals of qualitative research, which emphasize depth over breadth and prioritize understanding how individuals make meaning of their experiences (Creswell & Poth, 2018). In-depth interviews are especially valuable when exploring sensitive, complex phenomena such as mental health, parenting, and digital behavior during crisis. Smaller samples allow researchers to engage deeply with participants, uncovering nuanced insights that might be obscured in larger quantitative studies. Moreover, the sample size was determined by data saturation—the point at which no new themes emerged in subsequent interviews—confirming the adequacy of the dataset for this analysis (Guest et al., 2006).

Demographic data were collected through a pre-interview questionnaire to provide essential context for interpreting the findings. Information on participants’ race, age, income level, education, family structure, and employment status were particularly relevant given that parenting practices, digital access, and adolescent supervision can be influenced by these variables. This data allowed for a more nuanced understanding of how intersecting identities and life circumstances shaped mothers’ social media behaviors and their perceptions of their adolescents’ experiences. Additionally, these demographic insights help clarify which voices and perspectives are represented in the study and highlight areas where more inclusive or targeted research is still needed.

2.2. Data Collection

Due to ongoing COVID-19 safety protocols, all interviews were conducted virtually via Zoom in 2021 and 2022. Each interview lasted approximately one hour and followed a semi-structured guide (Appendix A) developed by the research team. The guide included questions related to changes in social media use during the pandemic, strategies for managing screen time, and experiences of social comparison within online environments. Questions were designed to elicit both mothers’ reflections on their own use of social media and their perceptions of how their adolescent children engaged with these platforms. Participants completed informed consent and a demographic questionnaire electronically prior to their scheduled interviews. Conversations were audio-recorded with permission and transcribed verbatim for analysis.

2.3. Data Analysis

Thematic analysis of interview transcripts was conducted using an inductive coding process informed by the constant comparative method (Glaser & Strauss, 1967; Strauss & Corbin, 1998). Three trained qualitative coders independently reviewed the transcripts and developed initial codes. Through iterative discussions, codes were refined and clustered into overarching themes. Analysis continued until data saturation was achieved—that is, until no new themes emerged from successive interviews.

Microsoft Excel software was used to organize and manage the data during coding. Researchers manually coded the responses based on each question, categorizing the participants’ responses (direct quotes) according to the pre-defined codebook structure. Particular attention was paid to how mothers described social comparison, digital boundary-setting, and the emotional influence of social media use. Coders met multiple times throughout the iterative coding process to discuss, refine, and collapse emergent themes.

As for consistency or reliability, each coder independently coded the responses, and all coded responses were carefully reviewed by the lead author to ensure consistency. Researcher reflexivity was maintained throughout the process via memo-writing and regular debriefings to acknowledge potential biases.

Qualitative thematic analysis revealed eight overarching themes, including: (1) learning and entertainment (n = 14; % = 58), (2) maternal fears about content binging and cyberbullying (n = 12; % = 50), (3) finding connection and comfort through social media during the pandemic (n = 17; % = 71), (4) ongoing digital care work as lasting maternal labor (n = 15, 63%), (5) an iterative dialogue: platform restrictions and content curation boundaries (n = 10; % = 42), (6) upward and downward social comparison (n = 13; % = 54), (7) Fear of Missing Out (FoMO) (n = 11; % = 46), and (8) third-person effect (n = 10; % = 42).

3. Results

Demographic information about all participants (N = 24) was collected. Participants’ ages ranged from 30 s to over 50 s with the majority (n = 11) in their 40 s, followed by those in their 30 s (n = 7) and those over 50s (n = 6). Most participants identified as white (n = 16), followed by Black/African American (n = 4) and Asian/Pacific Islander (n = 4). The majority had a bachelor’s degree or higher (n = 17). Participants reported being employed either full-time (n = 15) or part-time (n = 4). Additionally, two participants reported being self-employed, and two reported being homemakers. One participant was retired. Annual household incomes ranged from $50,000 to over $100,000, with most earning over $100,000 (n = 16).

Most participants were married or in a domestic partnership (n = 17), followed by those who were single (n = 3), widowed or divorced (n = 3), and one who did not respond (n = 1). The average number of children per participant was 2.5, with most having two kids (n = 14), followed by three or four children (n = 10). While the ages of the participants’ children ranged from 3 to 28 years old, the interviewees were asked to answer the questions with a focus on their adolescent children, aged 10 to 19 years, during the COVID-19 pandemic. While no major variation in themes was observed based on demographic variables, it is notable that ethnic minority parents had more anxiety about children falling behind academically and in general during COVID-19. Additionally, parents with younger children were in the beginning stages of navigating social media boundaries and described themselves as less equipped for curating limits with their children as compared to parents of older adolescents who had encountered these conversations in the past. For instance, parents with children on the younger end of the adolescent age range (10–12) focused more on strict guidelines such as limiting devices, platforms (e.g., Gabb phone), access to limited apps (e.g., Messenger Kids for video calling grandparents), and stricter screen time limits and access. Parents with older adolescents seemed to accept increased screen time more as “a part of life”—especially as it was thoroughly integrated into the virtual education experience during crisis. Conversations with mothers of adolescents of all ages seemed to approach the conversation more from the lens of “how” and “when” rather than “whether” their children would encounter the need for digital parameters and intensive digital care from a maternal standpoint (ongoing digital care work as lasting maternal labor referenced later in the manuscript). COVID-19 seemed to highlight this and bring it more to the forefront due to extended time with their children at home that mothers may not otherwise have experienced, if not for the disruption, and finding themselves in a more direct position to help their adolescent children navigate virtual learning, socialization, and entertainment.

Regarding social media use (see

Table 1. Social Media Characteristics of Participants and Their Adolescents.

Participant #	Number of Children	Ages of Children	Social Media Platforms Used by Mothers	Hours Per Day Mothers Spend on Social Media	Social Media Platforms Used by Adolescents	Hours per Day Adolescents Spend on Social Media (According to Mothers)
1	2	15 *, 19 *	Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube	4–5 h	Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube	5–10 h
2	4	16 *, 19 *, 20, 22	Facebook, Instagram, TikTok	4–5 h	Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok	4–5 h
3	2	17 * and 4	Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube	5–10 h	YouTube	1–2 h
4	2	15 * and 17 *	Facebook	2–3 h	Instagram, Snapchat, LinkedIn, TikTok, YouTube	2–3 h
5	4	18 *, 15 *, 15 *, 6	Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube	2–3 h	Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, YouTube	3–4 h
6	2	10 * and 7	Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok	4–5 h	Instagram, TikTok, YouTube	2–3 h
7	4	9, 11 *, 16 *, 17 *	Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube	3–4 h	Facebook, Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube	1–2 h
8	2	11 * and 4	Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube	5–10 h	Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube	10–15 h
9	2	19 * and 17 *	Instagram, TikTok, YouTube	3–4 h	Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok	3–4 h
10	2	15 *, 6	Facebook, Instagram, YouTube	1–2 h	YouTube	Less than 1 h
11	3	4, 7, 11 *	Facebook, YouTube	5–10 h	YouTube	2–3 h
12	3	28, 19 *, 14 *	Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube	Less than 1 h	Facebook, Snapchat, YouTube, Other	1–2 h
13	3	2 in middle school, 1 in high school; did not specify	None	0	TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube	5–10 h
14	2	12 *, 8	Instagram, Twitter, YouTube	1–2 h	Instagram, Snapchat	1–2 h
15	3	19 *, 18 *, 10 *	Facebook	3–4 h	Snapchat, TikTok	5–10 h
16	2	20, 12 *	Facebook, Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube	5–10 h	YouTube	5–10 h
17	2	10 *, 8	Facebook, Instagram, YouTube	1–2 h	Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube	1–2 h
18	2	20, 13 *	Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube	3–4 h	Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube	5–10 h
19	4	12 *, 23, 25, 28	Facebook, Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube	1–2 h	Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube	2–3 h
20	2	22, 14 *	Facebook	3–4 h	Facebook	4–5 h
21	2	16 *, 3	Facebook, Instagram, YouTube	Less than 1 h	YouTube	Less than 1 h
22	3	4, 9, 10 *	Facebook, TikTok	3–4 h	TikTok	2–3 h
23	2	16 *, 25	Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, TikTok, YouTube	4–5 h	Instagram, SnapChat, TikTok, YouTube	4–5 h
24	3	19 *, 15 *, 13 *	Facebook	Less than 1 h	Twitter, SnapChat, TikTok, YouTube	1–2 h

Note: We have marked with an asterisk (*) the child or children who were the focus during the interview (The “Ages of Children” Column in Table 1) and included in the data analysis. Additionally, social media platforms used by adolescents and time spent on social media are reported by mother participants. There may be potential discrepancies between the mothers’ perceptions and the adolescents’ actual usage.

), most participants reported spending three to five hours per day (n = 10) on social media platforms during the pandemic lockdown, followed by one to three hours (n = 6), five to ten hours (n = 4), and less than one hour (n = 4). Facebook was the most popular social media channel among the mother participants (n = 22), followed by YouTube (n = 16) and Instagram (n = 13). Participants also indicated that their adolescent children typically used social media platforms for one to three hours per day (n = 11), followed by five to 10 h or more (n = 6), three to five hours (n = 5), and less than one hour (n = 2). The participants reported that YouTube was the most popular social media platform (n = 19) among their adolescent children, followed by Snapchat (n = 16), TikTok (n = 15), and Instagram (n = 13). Notably, Snapchat and TikTok were found to be social media platforms favored by older adolescent teens.

3.1. Mothers’ Perceptions of Social Media Use by Adolescents During COVID-19

The first research question explored mothers’ perceptions of how their adolescent children experienced social media and coping behaviors during COVID-19 and beyond. Thematic analysis revealed two overarching themes: (1) learning and entertainment and (2) maternal fears of adolescents binging content and experiencing cyberbullying.

3.2. Learning and Entertainment

Overall, mothers felt that social media was a helpful distraction and source of learning and entertainment that kept their adolescent children engaged during a time of major isolation and disconnection. They described and focused on the positive ways that social media were utilized to help their children learn and entertain themselves and improve their mental health. Socially gratifying activities included virtual tutoring, creating videos, forming virtual communities around hobbies or extracurricular activities, and remaining in touch with long-distance friends or significant others. Children also used social media to stay informed about current events, which led to open conversations with parents and helped with fact-checking and digital literacy. This was important as parents in our sample reported that, with the abrupt shift to virtual learning during the pandemic, schools did not provide robust digital literacy training to students. No participants reported that their students felt adequately equipped by the school districts to adapt to virtual learning during this public health crisis—and some participants, such as Participant 14, described how “doing fully online school through the public school during the pandemic was difficult. Her grades suffered (went down to Bs in some classes) but rebounded once she was back in-person.”

However, on their own, youth discovered new social media platforms and tried out some of the content ideas that they discovered, which they shared with their parents. For example, Participant 18 shared:

She was TikToking all the time. I would come out of my room where I was working, and she’d be in the kitchen like dancing to her phone. I’m not sure that the whole TikTok craze would have been so bad if it hadn’t been in the middle of the pandemic when nobody could do anything else. I guess it helped distract her…I’m not sure about in the long run, but it was a good thing.

By participating in TikTok dance challenges, the child was learning a new skill, which enhanced her self-perception and self-identity and helped her to relate to her friends.

Mothers reported that adolescents also used apps such as Facebook Kids Messenger to converse with relatives and friends and played games independently. This was especially helpful for children whose parents were mindful to carefully adhere to COVID-19 social distancing restrictions, as it still allowed them some virtual contact with their peers, particularly while parents were occupied with teleworking.

3.3. Maternal Fears of Adolescents Binging Content and Experiencing Cyberbullying

While being cognizant of the positive influences of social media during COVID-19 lockdowns in terms of keeping adolescent children connected and engaged, mothers also outlined numerous issues with social media. Most strongly, they feared content binging and bullying and rued the potential long-term mental health effects of their adolescent children spending so much time on these platforms, which are designed to be addictive. For instance, Participant 8 articulated:

[Child] loves YouTube, and she’ll watch YouTube– like she’ll watch these videos of these girls playing Roblox for hours… It’s almost unhealthy. So, I’ll make her shut that off, and she’ll ask me. ‘Can I watch YouTube?’ Because YouTube is such a thing to her…

Mothers explained how they would set strict screen time limits or switch platforms to Nintendo Switch or Disney Plus, for instance, to get their children away from social media after a certain point– illustrating that their concerns were more related specifically to binging social media rather than screen time, in general. Additionally, participants discussed fearing predators, trolls, and bullies that their adolescent children might encounter on social media platforms. Participant 11 explained:

My eldest child joined a group chat for a musical project. In that group chat, there was a friend who behaved strangely and left the group abruptly. When my child saw that people in the group chat were talking negatively about this friend, she was shocked and taken aback…I’m not sure what happened after that, but it was clear that the remaining group members were discussing that friend in an unfavorable way.

Participants reiterated that bullies could be people that the child knows, such as in the above example, or unknown Internet strangers, trolls, and/or predators. Finding ways to keep their children safe and in a good mental state was in the forefront of mothers’ minds during the portion of the interviews that focused on how increased social media time potentially influenced their adolescent children.

Next, RQ2 examined how mothers perceived their own social media usage during and beyond COVID-19 as related to their adolescent children. This is important as maternal behavior related to social media engagement and coping mechanisms to mitigate the stress of pandemic-induced isolation can lead to modeling for their adolescent children. Social Cognitive Theory, which evolves from Social Learning Theory, suggests that individuals learn and change behavior through the reciprocal interaction of personal factors, behavioral patterns, and environmental contexts (Bandura, 2009). From this perspective, the ways parents use social media as a role model can shape the family environment, which in turn affects children’s use of media.

Accordingly, research has found the impact of parents’ social media use on their children’s social media behavior. For instance, a survey of 1819 U.S. parents of children (8- to 18-year-olds) showed that parental media use and attitudes were strongly associated with media use of adolescent children (Lauricella & Cingel, 2020). Furthermore, parents’ media use, along with their parental mediation practices (i.e., restrict and explain time and content in children’s media use) and monitoring practices (i.e., keep track of children’s media use in terms of time, content, and people) can interplay to shape children’s attitudes toward social media and influence their behavior (Coyne et al., 2017). Three overarching themes emerged related to RQ2: (1) finding connection and comfort through social media during the pandemic, (2) ongoing digital care work as lasting maternal labor, and (3) an iterative dialogue: platform restrictions and content curation boundaries.

3.4. Finding Connection and Comfort Through Social Media During the Pandemic

Mothers explained how social media allowed them to find connection and comfort with like-minded friends during an otherwise-isolating time. For instance, one mother reflected on the challenge of connecting with her peers in person during the pandemic due to differing views about COVID-19 in her community. Participant 14 elaborated:

Monthly chats with graduate school friends… I remember those being really helpful because basically I was seeking out people that viewed the pandemic the same way that I did because I was surrounded by a lot of people who didn’t in my everyday life. Finding people who sorted through information and saw it the same way, it was helpful.

Similarly, participants described how social media enabled them to “find your people,” highlighting the unique benefits of different social media platforms for connecting with others. For instance, Participant 8 explained that TikTok was particularly effective for connecting with other moms, since the platform offers a wealth of valuable information, not just on parenting but also on a variety of other topics, from skincare to fashion.

As the pandemic evolved, many continued to turn to various social media platforms to stay engaged. Participant 11, for instance, found Facebook useful for keeping up with school updates and reassuring herself about her children’s well-being. She stated “Occasionally, I would check Facebook for school updates, like when they posted (masked) pictures from school. Seeing those updates made me feel like our kids were doing well, and that was enough for me.”

3.5. Ongoing Digital Care Work as Lasting Maternal Labor

Another notable theme that emerged from participants, particularly among mothers managing multiple children and working from home, was the sustained burden of monitoring and guiding their children’s digital lives. Although this study focused on the pandemic period, these concerns did not subside once lockdowns ended. Mothers described themselves as “tech moderators,” “screen police,” or “emotional filters” for online content, highlighting the evolution of caregiving into the digital realm and the role of monitoring practices. This unpaid labor is referred to as digital care work (Jeffery, 2025), and reflects the increasing demands placed on mothers to manage not only physical and emotional care but also their children’s digital identities and media consumption. It signals a structural shift in parenting that extends far beyond the unique conditions of the pandemic and has implications for maternal well-being, burnout, and media literacy education.

In terms of parental mediation practices (i.e., time and content restrictions), Participant 10 explained: “We allocate a set amount of [screen] time each day, but sports, which may run for 3–4 h, are an exception as we watch them together with Dad. However, for games and YouTube, they now have a specific allotted time.” Likewise, Participant 24 explained that she tries to limit social media as much as she can so that her children do not grow to depend on constant communication with outside people. “I have limited their time…Just because it’s for the functional [aspects of their lives], you need to go to bed, you have homework, you have other things, responsibilities that you need to take care of. I do also attempt to try to get my middle child to just spend more time reading. To limit their time to work on their own personal thought processes development, to not be influenced by continued conversations with outside people. So, some [digital] limits, yeah, absolutely.”

Other parents, like Participant 17 stated that she “just does not limit screen time” before describing some basic structural limitations that she enforces (e.g., time of day, season)—emphasizing that even with a more easygoing approach to technology, mothers still have to play a new, more active role in digital caregiving. “I mean, we try to shut them down at a certain time at night, just so they get some sleep, but we’re pretty laid back when it comes to the screen. My brother and I grew up on Nintendo, so you know, we turned out okay. As long as they’re not abusing it too badly, I don’t mind. I would say this: in the summer, when we’re here all day long, we probably put more limitations on them in the summer than we do in the school year. We don’t want them just on there from the time we wake up to the time they go to bed; we want them outside, and we want them active.”

This quote illustrates that even parents who profess not to have strict limits still consider boundaries for their kids’ digital well-being something to consider and emphasize—making sure that they have balanced, fulfilling off-screen lives as well.

Finally, in examining how mothers and their adolescent children negotiated setting healthy social media limits during the pandemic, mothers described an “iterative dialogue” to co-manage coping behaviors and healthy social media use.

3.6. An Iterative Dialogue: Platform Restrictions and Content Curation Boundaries

Participants described wanting to counteract negative social media influences for their children. Participant 14, for instance, in addition to limiting the platforms that her child could access (Snapchat, Instagram) had her start out by only posting pictures of her pet and/or landscapes rather than her face in order to avoid the “mental process of identity formation that occurs through trying to curate the perfect selfie.” Now that she is in high school, the parent–child “negotiation” is ongoing as far as which content she is allowed to post on various social platforms, illustrating the iterative, ongoing parent–child conversation centered on social media.

Notably, 1 in 4 children have a personal cell phone by age 8 (Common Sense Media, 2025), so parents are having to begin thinking through these technology boundaries from an earlier age. For instance, some participants in our study described only giving their children Gabb (safer smart phones with limitations) to start rather than giving their adolescent children smart devices with full capabilities from the beginning—but each family has different preferences regarding acceptable device use in various settings (e.g., school, home, extracurricular activities) and with various contacts (e.g., parents, coaches, extended family, peers, etc.).

Along these lines, participants noted the importance of setting physical and spatial limits (e.g., physical location in the house to use technology, days of the week—school days versus weekends, hours in the day) and/or having virtual boundaries surrounding social media (platforms and apps that adolescents could access, who they could befriend, types of content and/or content creators they could follow, post, or share). Mothers emphasized that establishing clear limits and boundaries around phone usage and social media is crucial, viewing these parameters as a proactive strategy that fosters healthier digital habits and mitigates potential negative influences on adolescents’ social identities. Participant 10 stated:

I think setting limits is a good idea. When children have boundaries, they sometimes feel more at ease knowing they are within the rules. Of course, there are times when it’s challenging to turn things off, but once they adapt, they can learn self-regulation.

Therefore, these parents engage in ongoing, iterative dialogues with their children to “negotiate” the limits as to what devices, platforms, and screen time is acceptable for various ages, seasons, and social commitments.

Finally, RQ3 investigated whether and how social comparison was identified in maternal and adolescent social media use during COVID-19. Participants explained that both themselves and their adolescent children engaged in social comparison via social media during COVID-19. Thematic analysis related to RQ3 revealed three overarching themes: (1) upward and downward social comparison, (2) fear of missing out (FoMO), and (3) third-person perception.

3.7. Upward and Downward Social Comparison

Mothers reported using social media to engage in both upward and downward social comparison during COVID-19 and beyond. Participants described primarily using social media to see what other parents are proud of and what results they have witnessed from implementing various parenting strategies with their children, thus engaging in upward social comparison. Ultimately, engaging in comparison with other parents was described as “human nature,” and social media was seen to provide another outlet to engage in this kind of peer-to-peer learning from and comparing oneself to other parents. For instance, Participant 23 explained:

I’m part of the moms of boys and Black parents’ Facebook groups. And in those groups, I tend to pay more attention to those, because, you know, there is some similarity in the challenges that we face. So yeah, I do pick up some things there that I may implement.

(Participant 23)

Nevertheless, some participants described finding it hard to constantly see other families’ daily activities on social media—particularly during lockdowns when normal routines were completely altered and often, suspended, for families adhering to stricter quarantine recommendations and lockdown restrictions. Participant 9 explained how this comparison was especially pronounced during COVID-19, as mothers looked to social media for social cues to see what activities that both celebrity influencers and their in-network peers felt were safe and doable given the lockdown restrictions and pandemic-related public health recommendations in the United States.

The Kardashians would go on vacation. Nobody else could go on a vacation, so I think that kids would see that or just in general people and be like, well, how come they get to go on a vacation? So, I think social media was bad during the pandemic for stuff like that. Yeah. Like, if you had money, you could do whatever you wanted. You didn’t have to follow the rules like the rest of us.

(Participant 9)

Likewise, mothers reported engaging in comparison related to parenting and ‘keeping up with the Joneses,’ including kids’ extracurricular activities, travel, sports, and vacations.

I think ‘oh I should really get into that.’ Or I should really push my kids to get into that, but I don’t really want to spend the time and money, and they don’t really seem to be interested that much.’ One thing I can compare is of course vacations and things like that, like ‘How did they get to go to Disney World?’, and you know, but then, as far as discipline and parenting compared to others…it’s just a constant battle.

(Participant 3)

Along these lines, Participant 11 noted that social media resulted in her engaging in negative self-comparisons of herself with other mothers during COVID-19.

I also think there are many downsides to it. It’s like looking at someone else’s life and thinking, ‘That person is living like this,’ but then I keep comparing myself and unconsciously assigning scores to my own life.

Despite feeling jealous and participating in upward-comparison related to the content that other parents shared on social media, participants also reported reverting to downward social comparison to make themselves feel better and “come back to reality.” Participant 15 said:

Sometimes I look at things on social media, but you know social media for the most part is a person’s highlight reel of their life. It looks all wonderful and good from the screen…Sometimes I compare myself to different people, like ‘I wish I could afford to get my kids those cute clothes that they have.’ But, then I think ‘yeah, but they probably got maxed out credit cards, and I don’t have anything on any credit card.’ So, I don’t know. It’s easy to compare to other people. But at the same time, I think people probably look at my three girls, and I have three beautiful, intelligent, grounded, smart, successful, thoughtful, and well-mannered children…

3.8. Fear of Missing Out (FoMO)

Fear of Missing Out (FoMO) arose as salient for mothers and their adolescent children during COVID-19. Fear of Missing Out (FoMO) is a common experience in the realm of social media, marked by users’ anxiety and worry about being excluded from or missing out on the activities and experiences that others (e.g., peers, family, or friends) are enjoying or benefiting from (Tandon et al., 2021). For instance, Participant 8 shared that her child often compared himself to what he saw the “cool kids” doing on social media, which influenced his self-esteem when his peers all made TikToks without him during the pandemic lockdowns.

Many participants reported joining virtual communities on Facebook, primarily, to fulfill a need to feel involved, or perhaps to combat FoMO. For instance, Participant 18 explained that her daughter felt left out after social media photos enabled her to see her friends hanging out without her. Seeing social media posts about others engaging in activities that the child was not able to participate in due to parental restrictions or differing school district or geographic restrictions, which resulted in the adolescent child experiencing FoMO, was prevalent throughout the interviews.

I think they’re getting like one or two times where they realized. ‘Oh, they went and did this thing’, and they were feeling great before that and then thought, ‘Why didn’t I get invited?’

(Participant 14)

To combat FoMO specifically, participants described how they actively encouraged their children to engage with their peers via technology and social media so that they would not feel left out during the isolating COVID-19 timeframe. Other participants encouraged their children to join certain social media platforms or communities for the first time to be able to engage with their adolescent peers in a new way during COVID-19. For instance, Participant 14 encouraged her daughter to download Snapchat to ensure she did not feel excluded from her peer group. Similarly, Participant 16 stated that her highly introverted son preferred playing games online with his friends as his way to get a little bit of social interaction so that he did not feel left out. In these ways, social media was seen as both the impetus for and antidote to FoMO in different capacities.

3.9. Third-Person Perception (TPP)

The current study revealed that mothers of adolescent children see social media as a mixed bag—they highlighted both the connectedness and potential for harm that these platforms provide, typically from a third-person effect perspective (not my child). Third-person effect refers to the tendency of parents to perceive that media has a greater negative influence on other children compared to their own (Ho et al., 2019). Third-person effect was particularly relevant in response to RQ3, which examined social comparison in maternal and adolescent social media use during COVID-19. Participants indicated that other children, rather than their own, might struggle more with social comparison. Specifically, mothers of boys believed that mothers of girls would perceive the influences of social media differently, as they perceived girls might face greater challenges in this area. Participant 1, who has two sons, stated:

I mean, they will say ‘Look at so and so, they went to blah blah blah,’ but as far as having a major influence on him, I don’t think it has. But, I think if it was a girl, I think it would be harder, if I had a girl. But, even boys if they get left out of something they’re not going to come tell you that they got left out…

While mothers of older children thought their kids were unaffected by social media, they recognized mothers of younger children had different concerns. Participants expressed that other people’s children seemed to struggle with digital addiction, such as video game addiction, and saw that this was problematic but not something that they perceived their own children experienced. For instance, Participant 2 explained: “If adults were not able to regulate some of that, it can already be bad. I understand it has not been a problem for my children, but I can certainly see how it would be.” Thus, participants attributed the perceived effectiveness of their digital care parenting strategies, in part, to what extenttheir adolescent children were influenced by social media.

When it comes to the negative effects that social media can have on adolescents, some mothers perceived that their children’s “toughness” protected them from being negatively influenced by social media. Participant 16 noted her child’s resilience shielded him from the negative influences of social media, highlighting a common belief that while social media might affect other people’s children, it does not necessarily affect her own. She said: “He is the type of child that is like ‘I am who I am. They don’t like me? They don’t like me.’ It rolls off his back…”

Finally, participants reported the positive effects of COVID-19 in terms of bringing them together as a family and encouraging them to spend time together within their own family unit or “pod” in new ways—often, outdoors and in nature. Thus, they perceived that these new, face-to-face interactions that adolescents were suddenly experiencing with their parents and siblings counteracted any potentially detrimental influences of too much social media use and contributed to the maternal perception of third person perception (not my child).

Although much of the data appeared to reflect mothers’ first-person accounts—highlighting their own use of social media for connection, comfort, and coping—it is important to recognize that third-person perception (TPP) still meaningfully shaped how they viewed the impact of social media, particularly on adolescents. TPP, derived from Davison’s (1983) foundational work, suggests individuals often perceive media as having a greater effect on others than on themselves. In the study, while mothers discussed the personal value of social media during the pandemic, they simultaneously expressed heightened concern about its influence on their children, often describing adolescents as more vulnerable to comparison, misinformation, and social isolation.

This dual perspective is especially evident in responses to RQ3, where mothers reported that at times, they along with their children engaged in social comparison. However, the tone and intensity of concern markedly shifted when they described their children’s experiences, emphasizing risks such as FoMO, self-esteem issues, and exposure to toxic content. In contrast, their own media use, while a source of potential jealousy and comparison, was framed more positively overall, as a source of solidarity, parenting support, or escapism—echoing previous research by Chung (2019), which found that exposure to high social media metrics leads individuals to assume that media content is important and that they are personally more influenced by it than others, reinforcing the perception of first-person perception (FPP). This asymmetry in perceived media effects aligns closely with third-person perception literature, which has been widely applied in contexts of health communication, risk behavior, and moral panic (Perloff, 1999). Therefore, while the mothers were articulating their own experiences (suggesting FPP), their interpretation of social media’s broader influence, especially regarding their adolescent children demonstrates how TPP subtly operates in discourse around parenting and technology. Recognizing this cognitive split is critical to understanding how mothers may model and regulate digital behavior in the home.

4. Discussion

The current research study explored how mothers perceived that social media usage influenced both their own and their adolescent children’s social identity, mental health, and coping behaviors during COVID-19 and in what way(s) social comparison was identified in both maternal and adolescent social media use during COVID-19. Qualitative thematic analysis revealed eight overarching themes: (1) learning and entertainment, (2) maternal fears related to content binging and cyberbullying, (3) finding connection and comfort through social media during the pandemic, (4) ongoing digital care work as lasting maternal labor, (5) iterative dialogue: platform restrictions and content curation boundaries, (6) upward and downward social comparison, (7) fear of missing out (FoMO), and (8) third-person perception (TPP).

4.1. Practical Implications

At the height of COVID-19, the number of youth suffering from depression and anxiety increased. It is well-known that persisting in highly stressed environments can be a significant risk factor for youth depression and anxiety (Fox et al., 2010). With adolescents spending more time on social media during COVID-19, mothers reported heightened anxiety was common—both for themselves in terms of fearing the adverse effects of so much screentime on their children– as well as for their children who engaged in this screentime. Despite universally stating that their children were using screens more during the pandemic as schoolwork transitioned to a digital modality, an overwhelming perception remained that increased social media usage was countered with increased family and outdoors time. Mothers also suggested that social media influenced other people’s children more than their own (i.e., third-person perception). The increased social media use among adolescent children during the pandemic should be reviewed and adjusted to adapt to the changes in the post-COVID-19 environment.

4.2. Recommended Parenting Strategies to Support Children in Digital Spaces

Post-pandemic parenting strategies can be adapted to a non-crisis period as well, since key lessons learned are still applicable. For instance, the structured routines that mothers adopted for adolescents in the home when they were physically in the same space in Spring 2020 were found to promote consistency and emotional security, and parent–child dialogue increased as the family system worked to adapt to a changing external environment. To continue the benefits of consistency and emotional security, parents could have regular family meetings for communication to build strong communication habits and conflict resolution skills. This is especially meaningful when it comes to co-navigating digital spaces and social media where children (or their peers) are engaging at ever-earlier ages for increasing amounts of time.

Social media engagement is associated with producing anxiety and unhealthy symptoms for adolescents, particularly for those who experience FoMO (Barry et al., 2017). To compensate for FoMO, adolescents might increase their use of social media and thus create a cycle of further use of social media and heightened FoMO (Oberst et al., 2017). In May 2023, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) released a new set of screen time guidelines for children and adolescents and resources that parents can use to make informed choices for their families (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2023). Notably, they did not settle on a specific number of hours that are considered “safe” or “healthy,” but instead urged parents to consider the quality of interactions on social media, rather than just the quantity or amount of time. This guideline echoes the findings in the current research study that adolescents are engaging with digital media for myriad uses and gratifications. Specifically, the AAP recommends considering how children and teens engage on social media, with a focus on supporting them to use these platforms in ways that “strengthen their social, emotional, cognitive and identity development” while setting rules focused on “content, co-viewing and communication,” which have been associated with better well-being outcomes than rules focused on screen time. This echoes the findings in our study that adolescents benefited from social media in terms of learning and entertainment. It also reiterates mothers’ observations in the current study that adolescents’ access to allowable mobile devices and social media platforms, and the quantity, type, and time spent on social media should be an ongoing iterative conversation among adolescents and their caregivers, without necessarily prescribing strict limits with punitive consequences.

Encouraging not only screen time management which became a focal point during the pandemic, but also mindful technology and digital literacy will be key moving forward. Engaging in parental mediation (i.e., restrict and explain time and content in children’s media use) and monitoring practices (i.e., keep track of children’s media use in terms of time, content, and people) (Coyne et al., 2017) will also remain paramount moving forward.

Participants in the current study described creating their own version of best practices for their adolescent children and the ongoing digital care work involved in this process, such as limiting access to technology completely, in various spaces, or at various times, limiting access to certain platforms, and/or putting restrictions in place as to what content they could create and engage with. However, they also described having iterative conversations or “negotiations” with their children about social media and any resulting challenges that they may face (e.g., social comparison and FoMO). Moreover, Asian participants who were bilingual and familiar with social media platforms commonly used in their home countries (e.g., KaKaoTalk) over public platforms reflected a desire to protect family privacy while sustaining academic structure, an approach that may reveal culturally specific strategies of maternal resilience.

Results suggest that parents can serve as social media coaches to improve the quality of their children’s social media usage. and for parents to consider how their own social media engagement might influence the digital behaviors of their children. A co-constructive approach, grounded in-depth conversations (how to use social media), would be more effective. Adolescent children seek respect and need to develop a healthy social identity. Viewing adolescent children solely as vulnerable to media influence and attempting to control them from an authoritarian parenting perspective may not be the most appropriate way to enhance mental health and reduce the risks associated with excessive use of these platforms (Coyne et al., 2017). Along these lines, Chen and Shi (2019) found that parental mediation strategies including active mediation and co-using are more effective than restrictive mediation in helping children develop critical thinking skills and protecting them from media-related risks. This echoes a 2024 Gallup Survey, which revealed that “strong parental relationships and monitoring significantly cut the risk of mental health problems among teen social media users, even among those with significant screen time stats” (DeAngelis, 2024, para. 4).

Melinda (2022) also suggested that parents can work to increase digital literacy skills among their children–a skillset that our current study revealed is currently lacking and was not taught in schools, even during COVID-19 when the modality shifted to virtual learning. Specific actions parents could take would be asking children to take stock of their own time and screen time habits, create a bucket list of 25 things that they would do if screens did not exist, take a 24 h vacation from screens, and attempt to accomplish some of those bucket-list tasks. Additionally, parents should regularly have conversations with their kids about screens and social media, explain the importance of privacy and that what kids share will reflect on them and their reputation, discuss the performative nature of social media (e.g., the highlight reel content that they will consume via these platforms), and try to use screens with their kids, too, in order to share their values and expectations (Melinda, 2022) and model healthy behaviors. Understanding which social media channels their children use most and their primary motives to use social media can also help parents facilitate meaningful conversations. While our study revealed that parental supervision varies widely among participants, the 2025 Common Sense Media report reiterated that it also varies by platform (e.g., parents reported a much lower co-viewing of TikTok content with their children, as compared to YouTube). Parents can serve as helpful resources and guides (co-viewing, modeling, active discussions) to provide at-home support for both learning and entertainment on social media to reinforce a growth mindset for independent learning among adolescents.

Additionally, mothers can model and openly share their own social media experience, both positive and negative, with their children to foster open and constructive conversations. A parent’s healthy use of social media can directly affect their children’s social media habits in accordance with Social Learning Theory (Bandura, 2009). Mothers’ perceptions of their own and their children’s use of social media during the pandemic seemed to be regulated by “self-protection” mechanisms (minimizing failure) rather than “self-enhancement” mechanisms (maximizing success). Generally, self-enhancement is activated routinely, whereas self-protection is activated situationally (Hepper et al., 2010). But our findings suggest that self-protection can become routine during a prolonged pandemic. Even post-pandemic frequent emotional check-ins to support mental wellness and empathy in the parent–child dyad may also be beneficial.

On the positive side, social media plays a critical role in meeting individuals’ needs for understanding themselves, enhancing positive distinctiveness of themselves, and feeling supported or connected (Fujita et al., 2018). Social connectedness shared by members of an online community (Allen et al., 2014) can develop one’s sense of belonging to the social group, which helps him or her cope with mental health problems (Griffiths et al., 2012) and contributes to social identity development. Thus, parents, caregivers, childcare providers, and healthcare providers should become cognizant of how social media directly and indirectly fosters social comparison and shapes, in part, the burgeoning social identities among adolescents. Social media can foster learning, entertainment, and build peer-to-peer connections but also has potential pitfalls and drawbacks reiterated in the current study. Parents should also understand the importance of their own screen-time habits and how modeling healthy social media use and creating screen time limits and/or healthy boundaries for themselves (e.g., restricting use at various times, such as mealtimes, and in various places, such as bedrooms), could be helpful for and extends to their impressionable adolescent children.

4.3. Theoretical Implications

Social Media as a Double-Edged Sword. This study extends our understanding of how parents perceive the role of social media in shaping and transitioning adolescents’ social identity. Consistent with previous findings by Allen et al. (2014) and Latif et al. (2021), our data illustrate that mothers frequently described social media as a double-edged sword, one that could support or undermine their children’s identity development. Many mothers acknowledged that platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat helped their adolescents stay socially connected during the isolating months of the COVID-19 pandemic. This connectivity helped alleviate feelings of loneliness and preserved a sense of peer affiliation (Fujita et al., 2018; Griffiths et al., 2012). However, mothers also expressed concern over the emotional toll that social media could exact, particularly through idealized portrayals of others’ lives that left their children feeling inadequate or left out.

This tension reflects a broader theme in the literature: social media acts as both a source of affirmation and distress. Our findings suggest that the positive and negative impacts of social media on adolescent mental health and identity development should be considered simultaneously, rather than in opposition. Adolescents may benefit from digital connection while still experiencing the negative consequences of curated comparisons, reinforcing the need for a nuanced understanding of their online experiences during any time of crisis such harsh weather conditions and political unrest.

Role of Parenting in Identity Formation and Adolescents’ Social Media Use. This study demonstrates the significance of parenting or the adolescent-parent relationships in the use of social media and the formation of social identity for adolescents. While many previous studies have relied on the adolescents’ experiences and responses regarding social identity and their social media use (e.g., C. Wang & Gu, 2019), relatively little attention has been paid to exploring how parenting interacts with the identity change and formation of these adolescents. By taking a parent-centered approach, this study revealed that mothers had played extended and multiple roles for their adolescents while adjusting to the threatening and stressful circumstances during the pandemic. As Erikson (1968) notes, the identity formation of adolescents can be viewed as a process of person-context interaction where people, such as parents, surrounding adolescents play critical roles in supporting and helping adolescents shape their identity. The importance of identity development was highlighted with our underrepresented mothers. Black mothers in the sample used social media as a space not only for pandemic-related parenting support but also to cope with racial injustice. For these participants, platforms like X and Instagram were instrumental in building community, engaging in activism, and modeling racial consciousness for their children.

The findings of this study showed that mother participants used social media to help their adolescents reduce fear of missing out (FoMO) and feel connected to the real world during the COVID-19 pandemic. They also respected the social media use of their adolescents while providing guidelines on screen time and communicating with their adolescents who suffered from anxiety or depression. These results align with the findings of a study conducted by Beyers and Goossens (2008), who found that parenting and identity formation are dynamically interrelated. Our results suggest that supportive, coaching-like parenting can help adolescents form and develop their identity through social media. Specifically, maternal behavior related to social media engagement and coping mechanisms for pandemic-induced isolation can serve as a model for adolescents, particularly as both parents and children navigate increasingly complex digital landscapes. Research suggests that parents with higher social media literacy are more likely to adopt active mediation strategies, emphasizing risks and safety while allowing adolescents to explore independently, rather than relying on restrictive measures (Daneels & Vanwynsberghe, 2017).

According to the uses and gratification (U&G) theory, individuals actively use media to fulfill their desires stemming from their social roles and contexts (Rubin, 2008). Our findings related to RQ2 highlight parents’ social needs to connect with others during the pandemic. These results align with previous research showing that communicating with family and engaging with community were key motivations for parents using social media platforms (Doty & Dworkin, 2014). At the same time, our findings suggest that those social needs were closely tied to parents’ emotional needs for connection and solidarity in the face of an uncertain and isolating environment. In this sense, the results imply that the needs for parents’ social media use were influenced by broader environmental contexts.

4.4. Social Comparison Theory: Nuanced Effects on Identity

To further understand how social media shape identity development, we revisited and expanded on social comparison theory (Festinger, 1954), which argues that people evaluate themselves through comparisons with others, especially in ambiguous or stressful situations. Our study supports scholarship suggesting that digital platforms magnify this tendency by creating continuous exposure to curated, often idealized, representations of others’ lives (Haferkamp & Krämer, 2011; Nesi & Prinstein, 2015). Mothers in our sample described their adolescents engaging in both upward and downward comparisons, sometimes drawing inspiration from peers, other times feeling diminished or left behind. One mother noted her daughter’s disappointment after seeing peers celebrate birthdays while they stayed in isolation. Another shared how her son’s mood fluctuated depending on the number of likes he received. These examples echo findings by Fardouly et al. (2015) and Yang et al. (2021), who link social media comparison with emotional well-being and social identity development.

Interestingly, our findings complicate the assumption that upward comparison is always harmful. Some mothers found that comparing themselves to more “successful” parents on social media inspired them to try new strategies or routines at home. In this way, upward social comparison served a motivational role rather than a discouraging one. At the same time, several mothers demonstrated what can be described as a third-person effect; they believed other families were more vulnerable to social media harms than their own. This kind of downward comparison allowed them to maintain confidence in their own parenting while expressing concern for others. These insights suggest that social comparison processes on social media may have context-dependent outcomes, influenced by user perspective, intent, and the emotional environment in which comparison occurs. Our findings shed light on potential, but unexplored, issues related to the third-person effect. Mothers’ positive views on their own use of social media, combined with their negative views of their children’s use of social media, may create an inconsistent and contradictory parenting role model. Mothers excessively use social media by justifying their intention while simultaneously controlling and restricting their children’s use of social media. This may hamper the effectiveness of mothers’ media-centered parenting by increasing adolescents’ resistance and confrontation.

As Nesi et al. (2018) argue, social media not only reflects adolescents’ identities but also actively shapes them. Our findings reinforce that view. Through both observation and active participation, mothers in this study recognized the ways their children constructed social meaning online. The pandemic promoted this process, making digital spaces the primary arena for social validation and identity expression. Taken together, our findings offer a more nuanced understanding of how social media and the comparisons it facilitates can impact adolescents’ identity formation, especially during periods of crisis. Our findings also point to the vital role parents play in interpreting and mediating these experiences, both through their guidance and by modeling thoughtful digital engagement.

Mothers may acknowledge risks associated with social comparison, digital overexposure, or emotional distress on social media, but often attribute these risks more strongly to other families’ children than to their own. This distinction becomes particularly relevant in discussions of RQ3, where participants noted the emotional and psychological effects of social media on youth, yet often framed these effects as concerns for peers, not their own adolescents. TPP thus provides a meaningful theoretical lens through which to interpret these parental responses, particularly during a time when media exposure was at its peak and anxiety was widespread.

4.5. Positivity in Upward Social Comparison and Third-Person Effect in Downward Social Comparison

The U.S. Surgeon General’s 2023 advisory notes that frequent exposure to idealized images on social media may contribute to increased anxiety, depression, and body dissatisfaction among adolescents. This aligns with studies showing that screen time alone is not the issue, but rather how social media is used during emotionally vulnerable periods (Twenge et al., 2024). The current study enlightens the possibility that upward social comparison in social media is not always harmful. While previous studies have pinpointed the prevalence of “upward” social comparison in social media and its harmful influence on mental health (Feinstein et al., 2013; Vogel et al., 2014), our findings revealed that mothers comparing themselves with other parents who were doing “great jobs” in parenting during the pandemic did not always lead to negative emotions (FPP). Rather, some participants found upward social comparison helpful for their parenting as they could learn how to practice good parenting based on those who seemed better. The results also revealed a perceived third-person effect among adolescents who engaged in downward comparison on social media. Some participants thought that the harmful influences of social media were greater for parents who did not handle the situation well than for themselves. Overall, our findings can contribute to a more nuanced understanding of the diverse influence and its mechanism of social media-related comparison in a global health crisis context.

4.6. Limitations and Future Research

Interviews are foundational for qualitative research, and typically, the best practice is to conduct them in person (Sy et al., 2020). But in the COVID-19 era, in-person data collection for semi-structured interviews was not possible. For these reasons, researchers conducted 24 interviews virtually. While virtual conversations allowed for a more diverse group of participants, online interviews may have lacked the depth gained from establishing in-person rapport with participants.

Additionally, our study utilized self-reported, estimated social media screen time data based on mothers’ perspectives of their own and their children’s usage. Future research could require actual screen time reports from mobile devices of both mothers and adolescents to eliminate any potential bias or misreports in this area. Future research could also utilize qualitative research software (e.g., NViVo) and mixed methods including quantitative research, computational methods, and sentiment analysis, to provide additional insights—particularly to see if different demographic segments have varied experiences. For instance, a recent report highlighted that “children from lower-income households are spending nearly twice as much time with screens compared to those from higher-income households” (Common Sense Media, 2025). Approximately two thirds of our sample were from households earning $100,000 or more. Therefore, future research could specifically explore this phenomenon from the perspective of lower-income households.

Another limitation is that the study is limited to one perspective: the mother. Researchers interviewed only mothers, who provided their assessments of their children’s social media use and the potential influence on their mental health. While mothers seemed to have fairly comprehensive knowledge about their children’s social media activities and experiences on the platforms and previous research has highlighted the need for maternal perceptions of adolescent children’s social media use from a family systems and communication standpoint, future research could explore both perspectives related to the Uses and Gratifications theoretical framework for media content consumption. As the current study was limited to the maternal perspective, researchers acknowledge the impact of this limitation on data interpretation and the ability to generalize insights to the adolescent population without their firsthand accounts and perspectives. Expanding the conversations beyond mothers, researchers can talk with adolescent children to learn directly how they perceive their social media use contributes to their well-being. This line of inquiry will allow researchers the opportunity to compare perceptions of mothers and their children.

Additionally, the majority of our participants (66.6%) were white. While efforts were made to recruit a more diverse sample, snowball sampling resulted in participants of a more homogenous demographic. Future research could focus on other population groups, whose experience during the pandemic could have significantly differed based on cultural norms, perceptions of public health crisis and restrictions, and differing trust levels in medical experts, institutions, and social platforms. It would be helpful to expand the sample in future research to encompass more diverse social or cultural groups to ensure a broader representation of the community.

Further research could explore the political affiliations of mother–adolescent dyads to determine whether shared or divergent affiliations influence social media use, since algorithmic bias can shape the information individuals receive. Future work should continue applying Social Comparison Theory to the intersection of family communication, adolescent social media behavior, and mental health. Because participants in this study reported using social media, including virtual moms’ groups, to measure their own parenting practices and seek peer support, researchers could also analyze how these online communities contribute to the formation of parenting identity during crises such as COVID-19. Finally, investigators might examine the availability and effectiveness of digital and social media literacy resources designed to help not only adolescents, but also younger children, to navigate online platforms safely and develop additional resources where gaps exist. The 2025 Common Sense Media Report highlighted the evolving digital media habits for children ages 8 and younger, as children are using mobile technology (40% have tablets by age 2), utilizing AI in early childhood education (one third), and gaming. Each of these could serve as its own line of future inquiry.

5. Conclusions

In conclusion, the long-term effects of social media on maternal and adolescent mental health are still under investigation, especially as usage has risen post-COVID-19 and younger children increasingly access these platforms. This qualitative exploratory study offers insights into the influence of social media on mothers and their adolescent children through social comparison theory. Mothers reported both positive and negative effects of social media use during the pandemic lockdowns. Positive aspects included resources for learning, entertainment, and maintaining connections, along with gleaning valuable information on health and parenting. Negative effects encompassed increased social comparison, feelings of inadequacy from FoMO, and heightened fear during the pandemic, somewhat alleviated by the third-person effect. Participants emphasized the ongoing maternal labor associated with digital caregiving and iterative dialogues between parents and their adolescent children in terms of defining, negotiating, and refining nuanced digital boundaries. These findings highlight the need to examine the multifaceted roles of social media rather than simply categorizing its effects into a positive or negative dichotomy. Ongoing research at the intersection of family systems, media habits, mental health, and digital technology is crucial to identify best practices for maximizing benefits while reducing adverse effects for mothers and children.

Our findings suggest several pathways for informing both public policy and health communication strategies designed for families navigating ongoing digital life challenges. While the study centers on experiences during the pandemic, the insights carry long-term implications for supporting mental health and digital well-being in family contexts. Below are suggestions for policy and communication interventions:

• Develop national digital literacy and social media training programs for parents, especially mothers, to manage screen time, recognize social comparison dynamics, and support adolescent mental health. Programs should include culturally responsive modules tailored for diverse communities.
• Create public health messaging campaigns that normalize the emotional strain of parenting in digital spaces, particularly addressing maternal guilt, comparison, and boundary-setting. Messaging should be designed with input from mothers across racial, cultural, and socioeconomic groups.
• Compile an evidence-based digital parenting toolkit that focuses less on strict “limits” and more on co-construction, social media coaching, and ongoing iterative dialogue among family systems—suggesting healthy guidelines and practices for social media use as children grow and change-- from young childhood through college-age.
• Invest in platform accountability policies that encourage transparency in algorithmic content delivery to minors and promote family control features. Policymakers can use this data to argue for age-specific content visibility standards.
• Target funding toward mental health resources that reflect the dual burden of racial stress and crisis parenting, especially for under-represented mothers, who navigate additional cultural and community expectations alongside digital stressors.