WATERLOO, ONT- 09/06/09 - Images from waterloo, Ontario, and region to accompany a story about how waterloo is a much smarter city than Toronto. A group of moms and their baby strollers out for a walk/run in the park around Silver Lake. (Photo by Peter Power / The Globe and Mail)pmpPeter Power/The Globe and Mail
Kathryn Easter, Mom Central Canada
Just over one year ago, moms around the world rose up in one Twittering weekend of revolution to make it very clear they would not accept an off-key ad by Motrin aimed at them and their back pain. Since then, marketers have ignored so-called digital moms at their peril. A new study by Mom Central Canada and Sharpe Blackmore Euro RSCG suggests moms in Canada are far heavier users of the Internet than those on the other side of the border, but cautions that moms shouldn't be viewed as a single market block. While 44 per cent of those surveyed used a social network site on a daily basis, older moms are not likely to engage in such activities as blogging. The study notes that, "digital moms, on average, spend 3.1 hours per day, six days a week, using the Internet for leisure purposes," and adds that 19 per cent are online at least six hours per day. Which makes us wonder: Are some digital moms too busy being digital to actually be moms?
Simon Houpt