Aussie mums to get digital makeover

New research reveals that 70 per cent of Australian mums currently use social networking websites to keep in touch with their family; however 81 per cent of these users admit to having fears and insecurities about using such services, according to Telstra’s State of the Nation Report.

Telstra’s State of the Nation Report indicates that it is not just mums in their 20’s and 30’s who are using social networking sites, 45-65 year old mums are adopting technology as a way to stay connected.

Despite Aussie mums’ desire to use social networking sites to stay connected with their family, their children don’t see these sites as a way of connecting with their parents. Children over 16 years old are most likely to decline friend requests from their parents to avoid the embarrassment of baby photos and grammar corrections ending up on their homepage.

Telstra Brands and Marketing Communications Executive Director Amanda Johnston-Pell said, Aussie mums are online and using social networking sites, however there are definite fears and insecurities about how to approach their own kids online and what acceptable etiquette in this space is.

“Following on from our ’Call Mum’ campaign, we have launched a new program to help mothers up-skill in the social networking space to stay in touch with their family online with our new program called Mum 2.0,” Ms Johnston-Pell said.

“Online social networking is quickly becoming the norm for staying in touch with family and friends and the Telstra Mum 2.0 free of charge program is here to help Aussie mums make sure they never lose face online.”

Telstra State of the Nation report revealed nationally:

* 81 per cent of Aussie mums have fears and insecurities about their use of online social networking.
* 61 per cent of Aussie mums use Facebook regularly - 47 per cent of these mums use it daily and 14 per cent use it at least once a week
* 65 per cent of Aussie mums contact their immediate family via online social networking at least once a week.
* More than 47 per cent of mums aged 45-65 used social networking websites to view their children’s pages.

Telstra Mum 2.0 ambassador, media personality and busy mum, Wendy Harmer applies the ’look but don’t touch’ approach when it comes to staying in contact with her two teenage kids and their friends using online social networking.

“My kids and their friends are avid social networkers, from Facebook to MySpace. It’s normal for mums to want to see what their kids are doing, but I don’t want my kids to think I’m spying on them! I check their pages every now and again and I try to only comment or contact them if I have something witty to say,” Ms Harmer said.

Telstra launched the Mum 2.0 program after research showed Aussie mums wanted to utilise online social networking to stay in touch with family and friends, but they fear taking the wrong approach and they want to know more about how to use the sites.

The Telstra Mum 2.0 program is giving mums the right tools and advice to connect with their family and friends in today’s online world. This is being provided via a set of video tutorials with top tips and advice all available on the Telstra Call Mum website, Facebook and Telstra YouTube Channel.

Mums can register for a “Digital Makeover” online so they can complete their training and become an accredited Mum 2.0, enabling them to feel more confident to more effectively communicate with their kids on social networking sites. For more information please visit: www.telstra.com/callmum

*Telstra State of the Nation Report research conducted by Mark McCrindle Pure Profile Research was based on a nationwide, random sample of 1,200 mothers from 15-16 August 2009.