Keeping It Real(ish) Online

A while back, our girls did something really sweet for us, and I was proud to share on social media (they were also pleased to have it shared).

While the lovely responses were rolling in, it got me thinking about the whole “don’t compare your bloopers to someone else’s highlight reel” philosophy of social media, since that very same morning, I was complaining to my husband about something one of the girls did – though that’s not the sort of thing I was going to detail on the internet.

When I launched this blog, Liv was four and Eva was two – they have no memory of life before This Mom Loves. Over the years I think the pros have far outweighed the cons for them: products, trips and other experiences that they wouldn’t otherwise have had if their mom weren’t a blogger. The tradeoff is that their photos and feedback go online; once they were old enough to care, I started to ask them before posting any pictures of them or comments they have made so they do have a say in their digital footprint.

While I’m just not the type of blogger who shares the negative stuff (This Mom “Loves”, after all) please don’t take that for a moment as me implying that my children and I don’t have our own issues like everyone else. Their flaws (precious as they are) belong to them, and it’s not my business to spread them all over the www. As for my flaws, I think I throw in enough self-deprecation throughout my posts to let you know what some of them are, but my inner demons, though alive and well, are not welcome on my social media. (Nor are photos of myself without eyeliner. I love the YouCam Makeup app, btw.)

There are certainly arguments to be made about how helpful it is when bloggers (or social media users in general) share their issues, so others can relate and get support. I know I have talked about struggles with breastfeeding, rejections as a freelance writer, and other issues I’ve faced personally, but I didn’t have to throw anyone else under the bus in order to share the wisdom gained from my experiences – I didn’t write about anything that my girls wouldn’t want their friends or future employers to read.

All that said, I will continue to share photos, videos and posts about my family’s joyful moments and achievements (and if you’re sick of watching my girls sing and dance, I understand if you want to unfollow). I will not be sharing embarrassing stories or rants about the negative moments in our lives, a) because I really don’t want to shame my family members for the sake of online traffic, and b) because it’s not my style – as I’ve said before, I’m an oxymoron: the “private blogger”.  I realize this makes me a bit vanilla, and that my generic, positive posts are highly unlikely to ever go viral, but I can live with that – and sleep well at night. Most of the time. Okay, that’s another story and I said I wasn’t going to rant.

In summary: everything I share is real, but I don’t share everything. It’s all about keeping it real…ish. And xoxo to all of you who are still here anyway!