I have spent the last several weeks reading literature regarding social media's effect on the self-conceptions of young women. Based on this prior research, I have conducted a focus group to assess the effects of the #tradwife and #mobwife trends on female college students. We had rich conversations about gender roles in marriage and domesticity, exploring how these roles change through different geographical locations and social class groups. A core theme of the discussion was that participants view the #tradwife trend as having a glamorized allure. In some ways, it is presented on social media like propaganda by #tradwife creators, who only post about the positive aspects of the lifestyle without considering nuance. One of the major negative aspects of the #tradwife lifestyle the participants identified was the lack of financial independence and security outside marriage. In some cases, this financial dependence can result in financial abuse. 

The findings from this focus group raise many questions for future research. I am particularly interested in studying different age and geographic groups of women, seeing as I only interviewed female undergraduates in New York City. Additionally, it would be fascinating to study the effects of these social media lifestyle trends on male viewers. Although they are not direct targets of the consumerist aspects of these trends, these videos have the potential to change conceptions about life choices and relationships in men.