Relationscapes: “What to Expect Online When You’re Expecting,” with Amanda Hess

When journalist Amanda Hess got pregnant, the internet rushed in to meet the moment with baby ads, influencer moms, and algorithmically curated advice. But when her pregnancy became medically complicated, the warm glow of digital support gave way to something much darker.

In her new book Second Life: Having a Child in the Digital Age, Hess explores how the internet mediates—and sometimes warps—our most intimate life experiences, steering us toward strange and even troubling ideas about care, control, and personhood.

In this episode, we talk about the quiet loneliness of becoming a parent under the gaze of a platform, and what that experience tells us about the internet's role in everyone's life.

Show Notes

• Victoria Lucas, "Reclaiming Nemo," Ouch! It's a Disability Thing, BBC (Aug 19, 2004)

About the Guest

Amanda Hess is author of Second Life: Having a Child in the Internet Age. She’s a critic at large for the New York Times writing about the internet and pop culture, and contributes regularly to The New York Times Magazine. Hess has worked as a columnist for Slate Magazine, an editor at GOOD Magazine, and an arts and nightlife columnist at the Washington City Paper. Other publication sites include ESPN the Magazine, Wired, and Pacific Standard, where her feature on the online harassment of women won a national magazine award for public interest.

Full transcript available here at relationscapes.org. 

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