Mothering in a digital age – a first-time mother’s account of using an infant tracking application

Abstract There is a prevalent belief that ‘good’ mothers should avoid using smartphones around their infants, as it is thought to harm infant development and the mother-infant relationship. Despite this belief, many mothers find smartphones beneficial for accessing online support and information during the postpartum period. The social role of ‘mother’ comes with a suite of cultural, social, and moral expectations on how to behave and care for children. With the recent uptake of seeking parenting information or advice via smartphones and mobile applications (apps), a new social and educational discourse is emerging. Mothers are using digital technologies in various ways to support their mothering practices. However, there is limited understanding of the nuances of how, what, why, or when mothers use mobile apps or web-searching. Using one fragment of ethnomethodological interview data and adopting a ‘culture-in-action’ lens, we explore how a first-time mother constructs moral versions of ‘mother’ through her use of a baby app to support her mothering practices. Our analysis reveals the mother’s cultural knowledge-in-use, showing smartphones as valuable resources for improving and supporting mothering practices. This study underscores the importance of understanding how mothers integrate smartphone technologies into their mothering practices in practical and beneficial ways.