Abstract
BackgroundThe tendency of parents to consume alcohol during the COVID-19 pandemic is likely to be moderated by pandemic-related stress combined with the ongoing demands of childcare and home-based education, which are reported to be more burdensome for females than males.ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to describe alcohol-related content posted by mothers on Instagram during the COVID-19 pandemic.MethodsUsing two popular hashtags, #momjuice and #winemom, 50 Instagram posts on each were collected from the “top posts” tab. The coding categories were created inductively and were as follows: displays alcohol (drinking/holding alcohol or alcohol itself), person is making alcoholic beverages, type of alcohol featured or discussed, highlights anxiety and/or depression/mental state, highlights struggling (in general), highlights parenting challenges, encourages alcohol consumption, discourages alcohol consumption, features a person wearing clothing or shows products promoting alcohol, promotes alcohol rehabilitation, highlights caffeine to alcohol daily transition throughout the day, and highlights other drugs besides caffeine and alcohol.ResultsOverall, the 100 selected posts had a total of 5108 comments and 94,671 likes. The respective averages were 51.08 (SD 77.94) and 946.71 (SD 1731.72). A majority (>50%) of the posts reviewed encouraged alcohol consumption (n=66) and/or displayed alcohol (n=56). Of the 66 that encouraged and/or displayed alcohol, the common type of alcohol discussed or featured was wine (n=55). Only 6 posts discouraged alcohol use and only 4 provided the audience with a disclaimer. None of the videos promoted or endorsed alcohol rehabilitation in any way. Only 37 posts highlighted struggle. However, these posts garnered more than a majority of the likes (n=50,034, 52.3%). Posts that showed struggle received an average of 1359.57 (SD 2108.02) likes. Those that did not show struggle had an average of 704.24 (SD 1447.46) likes. An independent one-tailed t test demonstrated this difference to be statistically significant (P=.0499).ConclusionsThe findings of this investigation suggest that though these hashtags ostensibly exist to valorize excess alcohol consumption, they may be serving as a support system for mothers who are experiencing increased burdens and role stress during the pandemic. Given the strains placed on mothers overall and especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, efforts must be taken to increase access to and affordability of telehealth-based mental health care.
Highlights
Much media attention has been paid to the burdens that the COVID-19 pandemic has placed upon women in general and mothers
The findings of this investigation suggest that though these hashtags ostensibly exist to valorize excess alcohol consumption, they may be serving as a support system for mothers who are experiencing increased burdens and role stress during the pandemic
A recent Census Bureau report [2] describes the labor market losses women have faced over the past year as “devastating.” The authors note that as of mid-January of this year, approximately 10 million women in the United States living with school-age children were not actively in the labor market, an increase of approximately 1.4 million since January 2019 [2]
Summary
Much media attention has been paid to the burdens that the COVID-19 pandemic has placed upon women in general and mothers . Given that recent research suggests an alarming increase in alcohol consumption among women during the pandemic, an investigation into how this population represents alcohol use on social media is warranted. Alarm bells were rung regarding the potential for a COVID-19 “she-cession” given that women constituted the majority of those who either lost employment in spring of 2020 or took a leave of absence from their positions in order to care for children learning from home [1]. A recent Census Bureau report [2] describes the labor market losses women have faced over the past year as “devastating.” The authors note that as of mid-January of this year, approximately 10 million women in the United States living with school-age children were not actively in the labor market, an increase of approximately 1.4 million since January 2019 [2]. The tendency of parents to consume alcohol during the COVID-19 pandemic is likely to be moderated by pandemic-related stress combined with the ongoing demands of childcare and home-based education, which are reported to be more burdensome for females than males
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