The main aim of the present study was to examine the reasons for parents’ following of Facebook parenting groups. Another aim was to investigate the demographic, Facebook-use related, individual and parenting-related factors related to the frequency of active and passive following of these groups. One hundred ninety-three Turkish mothers (Mage = 33.56, SDage = 5.03, Range = 21-48) completed the demographic information form, the use of social media form, the trait anxiety inventory, the perceived offline social support scale and the self-perception of parental role questionnaire. Results demonstrated that parents were following Facebook parenting groups more passively and its frequency was related positively to the parent’s education level and the frequency of using Facebook, and negatively to the children’s mean age. The frequency of active following was found to be predicted positively by the frequency of using Facebook and the frequency of sharing on Facebook, and negatively by the level of parental competence. These findings were discussed in terms of the idea that Facebook parenting groups might provide informational support to the parents and have become a source for parenting.

Keywords:
Parenting, Facebook, online social network, information