Motherhood constructed online : an exploratory study of South African mommy bloggers

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT: When blogging first entered the collective mainstream as part of social media, it was thought there wasa clear distinction between online and offline life, that communities needed to have physical form, andthat 'mommy bloggers' wrote vapid posts about their children. And while those perceptions havechanged, there are still elements of those notions that continue to exist. This thesis explores those ideas,and shows a piece of the overall picture that makes up the South African 'mommy' blogosphere. Thispiece of the picture was created using an online focus group, interviews and a thematic analysis of theblogs of thirteen participants. What has emerged is that blogging is a lot of work, which often goesunrecognised. For the popular blogger, it provides social, cultural and material gain. The research alsoshows that the blog is the electronic body that the blogger uses in the blogosphere, and that the notion ofan online and offline space does not hold true.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University