The semantic categories WE and THEY in the discourse of Polish mothers on the Internet

The author analyzes mothers’ statements in selected Facebook discussion groups to investigate the categories WE and THEY in the mothers’ discourse on the Internet. The aim of the article is to analyze the collective identity of mothers – how they perceive themselves, how they perceive their social environment, who belongs to the mothers’ close and distant social context, and when THEY become hostile. The data analyzed, primarily includes texts in which the personal pronouns referring to the semantic categories WE and THEY (my ‘we’, nas ‘us’, oni ‘they’, ich ‘them’) appear. The analysis of the data from the two discussion groups has shown that there is no single distinct discourse of mothers but multiple discourses in which various factors, such as the group characteristics and the members’ interests, have an impact on their worldview and child rearing.