Snapchat Shares Insight Into How Parents Use Social Media

Here’s an interesting consideration: How does becoming a parent impact your social media usage?

In some ways, it likely reduces your impetus to share updates, as you’re probably not going out as much as you once did. But then again, that also means you have more time at home, maybe trying to get a baby to sleep, and thus, more time to spend on social media apps. Then there’s also baby photos to share, parent groups to join, etc. And given that the latest generation of parents has grown up with social media playing a significant role in their lives, it makes sense that while usage behaviors may change, social media plays a key connective role in the modern parenting journey.

This is the focus of a new study published by Snapchat, created in partnership with Havas Media Network, which incorporates input from more than 7,500 parents as to how they use social media apps.

And according to the data, parents do indeed use social media more once they have a child.

As per the report:

“59% of parents globally said they used social platforms more after having a child and were also more likely to use app features, post frequently, and make purchases directly on-platform.”

So, yes, parents end up expanding their use of social media once they have kids, as opposed to reducing it, while parents of older kids also end up using social media as a means to stay in touch with their kids.

In terms of when parents are more likely to use social apps, holidays, birthdays and summer vacations see them posting more often.

Though the most interesting one here is Black Friday, which sees the highest rate of increase in parental social media usage.

Why? Well, according to the data, parents are increasingly looking to use social media platforms to find information about products:

“More importantly, the shopping journey has become increasingly collaborative. Parents and children are navigating digital aisles together, co-discovering and co-deciding on what to buy. 86% say they’re shopping online with their children, and 67% say they’ve been influenced to purchase something that their child aged 13-17 saw on social media.”

So kids see things they like on social media, and share them in the app, and parents also use those same cues to learn about relevant products, and ensure they’re shopping for the right things.

And that influence stretches across a range of product categories:

These are some interesting and potentially valuable notes for marketers, helping to reach parents at the right time, with the right messaging, while Snapchat also notes that brands should target ads to be shown during after-school or weekend scrolls, when co-discovery is high.

The report also looks at how parents engage with creator content, how parents manage their kids’ online usage, and use social apps to explore their non-parenting passions.

Some valuable notes, which could have a significant impact on your planning, especially as we head into the end-of-year push.

You can read Snapchat’s full parents and social media report here.