The concept of family is undergoing a radical shift. The 'traditional' nuclear family is no longer the norm: in 2023, only 37% of US adults aged 25-49 were part of the traditional nuclear model (in an opposite-sex marriage, parenting at least one child), down from 67% in 1970 (Pew, 2023).

Globally, 45% of parents say they sometimes feel other parents are judging them (McCann, 2023). Easing the pangs of parenting pressure, solidarity-stimulating post-perfectionist parenting content exposes warts-and-all realities – from “slack mummies’” honesty and the dramedy of parenting adolescents to the tightrope experiences of working parents.

Audiences’ swelling fascination with intergenerational dynamics is pushed to the fore by growing ranks of older users making TikTok and Instagram Reels (see Key Stats). Beloved by young people, granfluencers are amassing major Gen Z followings. Meanwhile, Gen Xers are cameoing in content with their kids, and influencer families are revealing (and sending up) the intricacies of family life. 

Despite rising admiration for unpolished parenting content, a considerable crop of online mums personify a new iteration of hyper-curated and sometimes obsessive motherhood. Transfixing viewers with glamourised TikTok and Instagram content about their slickly performed dedication to raising children, they typically advocate for dated versions of gender roles and domestic dynamics.

In the US, fathers are less likely than mothers to discuss parenting with their friends (47% versus 67%; Pew 2023). Enter dadfluencers: fathers determined to blast through damaging social structures around fatherhood. From dads discussing their feelings to #GirlDads, stay-at-home dads and stereotype-busting Southeast Asian dads, they reject a one-size-fits-all approach.

Nuclear, heteronormative non-disabled families are no longer the only standard-bearers for family content (on- or offline). Queer parents, adoptive parents, neurodivergent and disabled families, trans parents and blended families are also claiming visibility, promoting tolerance and demonstrating the need to keep refreshing cultural conceptions of the family unit.