Time and Cost Savings... Active Use of SNS and Apps in Childcare

Sookmyung Women's University Master's Thesis
"Parents Born in the 90s Seek a Balanced Life"
MZ Parents "Actively Use SNS and Apps for Childcare"

Ms. A (30) often uses smartphone apps while raising her two-year-old child. She records everything in the app, including when and how much formula the child drinks, when the diaper is changed, and when the child sleeps and wakes up. She also uses the app to find places to go with her child. Ms. A said, "Through the app, I can find places suitable for my child's age in months. My husband and I look at the app and say, 'Let's go here to play.'"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Another mother, Ms. B (30), refers to hospital visit reviews posted on the app when choosing a hospital for her two-year-old daughter. When her daughter got sick during the Chuseok holiday in September last year, she searched online for open hospitals and visited one.

So-called 'MZ generation' parents are using apps and SNS (social networking services) as useful tools for child-rearing. The cases mentioned above were cited in a thesis titled "A Study on Child-Rearing Attitudes of 1990s-born MZ Generation Parents," written by Park Mihyun (30), who earned a master's degree in Child Welfare from Sookmyung Women's University last month.

According to the thesis published on the 4th, Park conducted interviews 30 times from August 23 to November 24 last year with five mothers and three fathers born in the 1990s who are raising infants and toddlers. The study found that parents born in the 1990s actively use SNS and apps for parenting.

The interviewees not only recorded their children's daily lives but also used apps and SNS to find places to go with their children or to obtain related information when shopping for their children.

Ms. C (30), who is raising a four-year-old child, said in the interview, "These days, there seem to be many convenient and good services when raising children."

Parents born in the 1990s were also not reluctant to use commercially available baby food and side dish stores for their children. Considering the time and cost involved in making food themselves, they thought buying ready-made food was more efficient.

Mr. D (32), a father raising two children, said, "When children are infants and toddlers, they require a lot of attention, and making baby food or side dishes causes stress and leaves no time. If there is no significant difference from buying them ready-made, I think it's better not to go through the trouble."

Additionally, parents born in the 1990s tended to seek a balance between 'life as a parent' and 'life as oneself.' They respected a life devoted to their children but also saw the need to nurture and take care of themselves. In the same context, they believed that parents' professional activities have positive value.

Many also used childcare institutions to have time for themselves.

Ms. E (30), who is raising a three-year-old child, said, "I think parents need to invest in themselves. After experiencing that not relieving stress well negatively affects relationships with spouses and children, I feel that investing in myself is even more necessary."

Researcher Park analyzed, "This lifestyle reflects the generational characteristic of prioritizing 'work-life balance' (WLB). It differs from the values of the older generation, who regarded parental identity as their own identity."

Born in 1993 and currently a mother of two, Park said she started the research out of curiosity about the child-rearing attitudes of peers while talking with friends who had similar childbirth and parenting experiences.

Park explained, "Currently, more than 50% of all mothers giving birth are born in the 1990s. This study aimed to understand the values and experiences of child-rearing among those born in the 1990s."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.