Abstract Book of the 4th World Conference on Gender Equality
Year: 2026
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Worn Out but Logged In: Emotional Coping and Digital Silence Among Urban Poor Mothers in Malaysia
Yee Von Wong, Tirzah Zubeidah Bt. Zachariah @ Omar, Lim Seong Pek, Rita Wong Mee Mee, Khoo Kim Leng, Anissa Binti Saidi
ABSTRACT:
This paper examines the emotional challenges faced by urban mothers in Malaysia as they navigate digital parenting spaces. These women, who belong to the bottom 40% (B40) income group in urban areas, struggle daily to provide for their children with limited financial and emotional support. At the same time, they are constantly exposed to idealised images of motherhood circulating on social media and digital platforms. Based on qualitative interviews with thirty mothers living in low-income urban neighbourhoods in Peninsular Malaysia, this study applies a feminist perspective informed by the concepts of emotional labour, affective economy and class-based respectability. The thematic analysis reveals three main emotional coping strategies that these mothers use in response to digitally mediated pressures. First, they intentionally withdraw by choosing not to post or participate in online parenting chats to avoid judgement and emotional exhaustion. Secondly, they practise passive observation or ‘lurking’, which allows them to remain informed without making themselves emotionally vulnerable or publicly visible. Thirdly, they use digital silence as a form of emotional shielding to protect their dignity and avoid comparing themselves to wealthier, more privileged mothers online. These behaviours reflect a conscious and emotional strategy to cope with the dual pressures of care and class-based moral scrutiny. The findings challenge the prevailing assumption that digital platforms inherently empower mothers. Instead, they show that digital spaces often reinforce social inequalities and exacerbate the hidden emotional pressures faced by structurally disadvantaged women. This study contributes to feminist digital studies by positioning digital silence as an emotionally adaptive response to the structural hardship and daily exhaustion of urban poor mothers in their caring roles.
Keywords: Urban Poor Mothers, Emotional Coping Strategies, Caregiving and Inequality, Digital Silence