Episode 4: Is Social Media Bad for Moms Too?
Season 1, Episode 4
Is Social Media Bad for Moms Too?
Control The Scroll
Is scrolling through Instagram a break—or a breakdown? In this episode of Mommy Has Questions, Cristina, Tiffany, Jess, and Jamie get honest about how social media shows up in their lives: the good, the bad, and the doom-scrolly.
After a chaotic night solo parenting, Cristina confesses how she reaches for her phone in moments of overwhelm. What starts as a harmless habit quickly turns into a group conversation about whether our feeds are soothing us—or slowly stealing our time, presence, and peace.
Together, the moms unpack how algorithm-fueled content taps into our anxieties and insecurities, why social media feels like “connection” but often isolates, and what healthier digital boundaries might actually look like. By the end, they’ve brainstormed real-world tactics for breaking the cycle—and come up with their own new mantra: control the scroll.
If you’ve ever opened your phone to relax and looked up 45 minutes later feeling worse than when you started—this one’s for you.
💬 What We Talk About:
Why we reach for our phones in stressful moments
How social media creates a false sense of connection
The mental health toll of comparison and overconsumption
Setting screen time boundaries for ourselves (and our kids)
Using mindfulness and breathwork instead of mindless scrolling
The power of critical thinking and intentional digital habits
What it really means to “control the scroll”
📚References:
Digital Minimalism Newport, Cal. Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World. Portfolio, 2019.
How to Do Nothing Odell, Jenny. How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy. Melville House, 2019.
The Moment of Lift Gates, Melinda, The Moment of Lift: How Empowering Women Changes the World. Flatiron Books, 2019.
How We Got to Now Johnson, Steven. How We Got to Now: Six Innovations That Made the Modern World. Riverhead Books, 2014
The Social Dilemma Orlowski, Jeff, director. The Social Dilemma. Exposure Labs, Argent Pictures, The Space Program, 2020. Netflix, www.netflix.com/title/81254224.
Talk to People on the Telephone Mull, Amanda. "Talk to People on the Telephone." The Atlantic, 16 Sept. 2019, www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2019/09/ring-ring-ring/598129/.
Does Passive Social Media Use Harm Well-Being? Meier, Adrian, and Hannes-Vincent Krause. "Does Passive Social Media Use Harm Well-Being?: An Adversarial Review." Journal of Media Psychology: Theories, Methods, and Applications, vol. 35, no. 3, 2023, pp. 169-180. https://doi.org/10.1027/1864-1105/a000358.
Screen Time and Well-Being Twenge, Jean M., et al. "Associations Between Screen Time and Lower Psychological Well-Being Among Children and Adolescents." Preventive Medicine Reports, vol. 12, 2018, pp. 271-283.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmedr.2018.10.003.
👯♀️ Meet Your Hosts:
Cristina Sansone – Public health pro turned full-time stay-at-home mom of three
Jamie Dennison – Corporate exec and mom of two
Jess Kahn Marks – Former engineer and mom of two
Tiffany Hodges – Writer, actor, filmmaker, and mom of one
🔗 Follow Along:
📱 IG: @momsamongotherthings
🌐 Website: mommyhasquestions.com
🎧 Presented by: momsamongotherthings.com
🔑 Keywords:
social media, motherhood, doomscrolling, digital boundaries, mental health, self-care vs self-sabotage, algorithm anxiety, phone addiction, feminist parenting, emotional resilience, comparison trap, mindfulness for moms, tech habits
