Hello. I have been a user of the DadTalk forum just over a year – using it as a place to chat and get information / advice as a father. I am also a PhD researcher interested in online forums for fathers.
My research focuses on:
1. Whether fathers use forums like this in different ways and for different reasons to mothers.
2. In what ways forums like DadTalk, and social media and mobile technologies in general, change the experience of everyday life for fathers as parents.
I know that not all users of Dad.info are dads and I am very interested in the points of view of all those who use the forum - everyone is welcome to comment. Please do say whether you are male or female and the ages of your children when you post, as well as the ages of your children if you don’t mind.
Any comments on the follow questions will be really helpful.
- Please tell me about what led you to start using Dad.info.
- Tell me about any other parenting forums you have ever used other than Dad.info
- In what ways does having access to a forum like this, as well as other social media, make your experience of being a father different to your own father’s?
- In general could you sum up what difference having access to a parenting forum online has made to you as a parent?
Many thanks for any insights you can offer. 🙂
For those who would like to know more, in the past I have researched fathers experiences of attending fathers-only parenting courses. I am currently completing a PhD that is attached to the NOVELLA project based at The Institute of Education in London: http://www.novella.ac.uk/projects/762.html