Social media making parents competitive

(WPRI)  - Competitive parenting is an ongoing issue and social media sites could be feeding the frenzy.

"People use Facebook to compensate for their own deficiencies.Facebook highlights the positive aspects and can cover up the negative parts in you," Psychologist Stefan Hofmann said.

Psychology professors recently took a comprehensive look at 22 recent studies and found most people use social networks for two common reasons, a sense of belonging and self-presentation.

"It can be an opportunity to create a life that one wants to live rather than a life that the person actually lives," Hofmann said.

Rene Syler has nicknamed herself the "Good Enough
Mother." She's written a book and maintains a website of the same name.

She's tired of the competitive parenting trend.

"Social media is a wonderful, wonderful tool - but do you think anyone is going to put their bad foot forward? Of course not," said Syler.

If you're having a hard time unplugging, tell your friends about it - update your status saying you'll be offline for a few weeks and that you can still be contacted by phone.