What experts say about media effect on parenthood.1

Social media can cause parents to second guess themselves.

Social media can impact children, and it can also affect parents by making them feel like there is someone watching and judging everything they're doing. Dr. Harvey Karp, pediatrician, children's environmental health advocate and founder of Happiest Baby, told Insider that seeing the polished, idealized visions of what being a parent should be on social media can make parents seriously question their choices. "Idealized online posts] can make new moms and dads doubt that they're 'doing it right,' and can lead to analysis paralysis every time they enter a discussion about parenting, like figuring out the best, smartest, most moral decisions on things like vaccinations and bed-sharing," said Karp. 

Today, some parents might feel inclined to be "best friends" with their children.

These days, there's a good chance you've seen parents post photos of their kids with captions like "My best friend." But some experts say this relatively new urge for parents to feel like they need to be friends with their children isn't exactly ideal. And, constantly displaying a parent-child relationship online doesn't exactly help.  Alison Rogers, former child and family therapist and co-author of "Breathing Space for New Mothers," told Insider that she believes many adults act like friends instead of parents because they feel a lot of guilt about their time spend at work. "They feel like they are rarely completely with their child as their attention is divided between work obligations and parenting. They compensate by making decisions that please their child. In the past, parents were more likely to make decisions for their child's long-term welfare, even if it made their child mad at them," said Rogers. "Over the past few decades, I increasingly see parents who want to be their child's best friend. They'd rather not be the authority figure if it makes their child unhappy in the moment," she tolo

 Official sources:

https://www.insider.com/how-being-a-parent-has-changed-in-the-last-20-years-2019#they-are-also-expected-to-be-part-of-every-aspect-of-their-kids-lives-3