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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

The mumsnet demographic

50 replies

YourLastNerve · 09/10/2024 23:20

Has changed?

When i first came on here it felt heavily skewed towards Londoners, professional women on above average incomes with 2.4 children. All children were slim, sporty, borderline geniuses reading paperbacks in reception fluently.

Now i notice that while in real life I'd say about 10% of people i know have someone in their household with either a disability, SEN or autism, on here it feels like most OPs fit this criteria. I wonder why that is - is mumsnet considered a useful resource for support/information for people in these situations?

Yabu - no one in my household has a disability, SEN or autism

Yanbu - at least one member of my household has a disability, SEN or autism

OP posts:
shellyleppard · 09/10/2024 23:22

I'm just here for the entertainment factor......also a chance to talk to others about what they are going through 🥴

Kneeslikethese · 09/10/2024 23:27

I suppose lots of people come here for support so the demographic will be skewed.
Personally I'm here shits and giggles.

Original poster
YourLastNerve · 09/10/2024 23:29

Me myself I'm here for the parking threads & sporners!

OP posts:
Cherryana · 09/10/2024 23:30

I’m here for the annual October woo thread.

AutumnCrow · 09/10/2024 23:31

The ‘demographic’ these days seems to involve a massive surge in AI data-scrapers and AI iterative learning crawlers.

There’s a different feel to it.

Iudncuewbccgrcb · 09/10/2024 23:34

I've been here since about 2012 and I think it is mentioned as part of posts more often than it was but there are also VASTLY more people using mumsnet than there was as well.

it's pretty reflective of people I know in real life tbh, a wide mixture of people, some nicer than others and more parents who have obtained a SEN diagnosis and support for their children when previously they would have instead been unkindly described as 'a bit odd, disruptive, under achieving, behind' etc.

b0zza1 · 09/10/2024 23:36

A quick flick down the active threads I'm not seeing any 'disability, autism or SEN' OP posts.... Are there normally more?

Dramatic · 09/10/2024 23:37

I used to post on babycentre rather than here but I got sick of all the mega strict rules.

I am partially sighted, wouldn't actually consider myself disabled though even though I technically am.

BarbaraHoward · 09/10/2024 23:47

Your poll and your post don't really match IMO.

Yes a higher portion of posters on here are ND themselves (common online) or have DC with additional needs (and post here for support). I think that's always been the way though.

I do think the demographic has shifted since I joined nearly 15 years ago. It certainly used to be very liberal and left wing, these days things seem very harsh (and I don't mean flaming a ridiculous OP), misogyny is rife, the racism is getting more blatant, threads on benefits or people who are otherwise struggling are awful. More people willing to cut people out of their lives for minor transgressions or who are determined to have nothing to do with their neighbours. Or mothers in law. Definitely more right wing than it used to be.

Less middle class too, although that's not a bad thing.

None of that has anything to do with disability/ND/ASD though.

tobee · 09/10/2024 23:55

I would say that people are more anxious and close to agoraphobic than they used to be. But maybe they're just the loudest ones on here?

Also, a combination of wfh being more possible since covid and the cost of living has made that less surprising.

sunshineinabag2 · 09/10/2024 23:55

I joined when pregnant with DD(7) for advice on pregnancy and later babyhood (Munsnet accurately diagnosed CMPA for DD5 after HCV fobbed me off). Had lots of advice over tricky toddler years, wedding etiquette, Csections, the pros and cons of having 2, but ultimately advice on dd7 which later helped me understand and realise DD7 had SEN and helped me push for an ASD diagnosis despite school saying she definitely NT. Mumsnet has actually been a life like in my early Yeats of child rearing. Also love the crazy threads, style and beauty etc.

HollyLollyMollyJolly · 09/10/2024 23:56

Used to be more conservative but has become more liberal.

Used to be more middle class (as we wanted to believe) but has become more working class.

Now a mix of everything and I think it's a good thing.

tobee · 09/10/2024 23:56

Also the progression of social media has encouraged people to be much more polemical in their views.

mugboat · 10/10/2024 00:01

HollyLollyMollyJolly · 09/10/2024 23:56

Used to be more conservative but has become more liberal.

Used to be more middle class (as we wanted to believe) but has become more working class.

Now a mix of everything and I think it's a good thing.

more liberal? ha!

mugboat · 10/10/2024 00:02

BarbaraHoward · 09/10/2024 23:47

Your poll and your post don't really match IMO.

Yes a higher portion of posters on here are ND themselves (common online) or have DC with additional needs (and post here for support). I think that's always been the way though.

I do think the demographic has shifted since I joined nearly 15 years ago. It certainly used to be very liberal and left wing, these days things seem very harsh (and I don't mean flaming a ridiculous OP), misogyny is rife, the racism is getting more blatant, threads on benefits or people who are otherwise struggling are awful. More people willing to cut people out of their lives for minor transgressions or who are determined to have nothing to do with their neighbours. Or mothers in law. Definitely more right wing than it used to be.

Less middle class too, although that's not a bad thing.

None of that has anything to do with disability/ND/ASD though.

nailed it

AdviceNeeded2024 · 10/10/2024 00:04

Cherryana · 09/10/2024 23:30

I’m here for the annual October woo thread.

Love it 👻

Saschka · 10/10/2024 00:07

mugboat · 10/10/2024 00:01

more liberal? ha!

Show quote history

Maybe socially, rather than politically?

The uptight naice ham brigade certainly aren’t around any more.

Original poster
YourLastNerve · 10/10/2024 06:12

I wouldn't say its loads of thrrads about disability/sen/autism

Its thats every op is "is my dh being financially abusive, i work part time, 2 dc one disabled"
Most posters will describe their family set up in the op and increasingly i notice it

OP posts:
Original poster
YourLastNerve · 10/10/2024 06:13

I agree re AI and thats bloody annoying

OP posts:
overindulged · 10/10/2024 06:16

I don't have any autistic dc, I had also noticed there seem to be a lot of parents on here with autistic/sen children.

It could be that they are more likely to seek support, but I think it's diagnosed more frequently now too.

Octavia64 · 10/10/2024 06:17

I'm the disabled one in my household.

Physically disabled following an accident.

I don't feel there's a lot of people like me in Mumsnet

(I have two kids and joined 12 years ago)

TheLittleOldWomanWhoShrinks · 10/10/2024 06:24

AutumnCrow · 09/10/2024 23:31

The ‘demographic’ these days seems to involve a massive surge in AI data-scrapers and AI iterative learning crawlers.

There’s a different feel to it.

Yep.

I've been here on and off for 20 years (almost to the week, in fact Shock ) and back in the day, when it were all fields, it was tiny in comparison to now and much more homogeneous - as you say, a bit of a social club for professional London and SE mothers, early-ish internet adopters. Then it grew due to shrewd publicity strategies by Justine and co, , gained a reputation as an interesting place where you could swear, and became more diverse.

Online communities are likely to work better around the lives of parents with children with SN, and are also the space where you can meet people who are going through what you are - which is a matter of chance at best in 'offline' communities - so that's no surprise. The SN boards also have a strong reputation as helpful.

BoobsOnTheMoon · 10/10/2024 06:28

Not sure where I fit then as my child is a "slim, sporty, borderline genius reading paperbacks in reception fluently" and also has significant SEN that caused him to be excluded from primary school and have an EHCP in place.

I think parents of children with SEND are more likely to be isolated in real life and therefore more likely to seek support online.

ASeasideGetaway · 10/10/2024 06:43

This site helped me as a new mum. I prefer to lurk more than post. I find the topics interesting. I’ve been on here for about a year.

110APiccadilly · 10/10/2024 06:52

I'm not sure there is as much of a difference between the demographics you mention as you might think. I suspect professional/ middle class parents are more likely to have children diagnosed with certain types of SEN. (Not more likely to have children with SEN, but more likely to have the time and money to get a diagnosis.)