‘Imagine, just 16 years old and already a dad!’ The construction of young fatherhood on the Internet

Abstract

Studies exploring young fatherhood have mainly looked at low-income and unemployed young men. The literature is thus focused on fathering at the margins of society and mechanisms of exclusion. This discourse of young, marginal, excluded and often fragile fatherhood is also strongly connected to discourses on young parenthood in general. There is, for example, an ongoing and parallel discussion in many countries on young teen mothers and social exclusion. In general, the discourse on young parenthood has focused to a greater extent on the mother's situation. In this article, we explore young fatherhood. In Sweden a new phenomenon has emerged: young fathers creating blogs and presenting themselves on the Internet. The images of young fatherhood constructed in these blogs are often positive and framed within a discourse of the caring father. Using a narrative approach, the article investigates how these young fathers present their self on the Internet. The results indicate the presence of a caring, present and reflexive young father.