10/02/2026 (Tuesday) 14:00-15:00 E21-G002
The Reproduction of a New Type of Inequality? Cognitive Labor and Gendered Division in Digital Parenting
Abstract:
The growing integration of digital technologies into everyday parenting practices has given rise to a new mode of childrearing known as digital parenting. Digital technologies are often celebrated for their convenience, efficiency, and accessibility, as well as their capacity to transcend time and space and blur online–offline boundaries. But do they truly alleviate parenting burdens and promote gender equality in childcare? In this talk, Prof. Ding addresses the questions by presenting her qualitative study of digital parenting practices among 26 urban middle-class families in Shanghai. Focusing on the long-overlooked cognitive dimension of parenting labor, her research examines how the invisible labor is enacted in digital parenting and how it is distributed between mothers and fathers. Drawing on a techno-feminist framework, the research further explores how digital technologies shape the distribution of cognitive labor. This talk invites critical reflection on digital parenting technologies, while drawing attention to the new, invisible constraints women encounter in the digital age.
Bio:
Liangqi DING currently serves as a Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in the Department of Digital Communication at Soochow University. She received her Ph.D. in Communication from Fudan University and her M.A. in Communication from the Communication University of China. She was a visiting scholar at the Philip Merrill College of Journalism, University of Maryland, during the 2023–2024 academic year. Her research interests include digital media and society, feminist media studies, and media and cultural studies. Her work has been published in international peer-reviewed journals, including Feminist Media Studies, Mass Communication and Society, Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, and Global Media and China.
