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motherhood | June 11, 2018

A Blogger’s Thoughts on Online Safety

I partnered with Allstate for this post because it was such a great fit and really ties in to my message and goal here: mom life is hard, and navigating an online world is even harder. All opinions are my own.

Did you know that June is Internet Safety Month? As a blogger, I spend a lot of time online, and share a lot of my personal life online as well. I am frequently a part of discussions with other influencers about what to share and what not to share with readers. It’s a constant struggle. And I am by no means perfect.

Figuring out what to share with my readers is tough. I try and make my blog mostly about me and my life as a mom. My desire is to connect with other moms like me, draw support from one another, learn some awesome mom-hacks, make friends, feel like we are all in this together, and have fun. With that comes sharing some very personal details about myself. In real life, I’m a little bit introverted, so getting to know me is tough. So many of my real-life friends comment on how they learned something new about me through reading my blog. It’s often easier to write things out here than it is to say them out loud. So how do I know where to draw the line between sharing and over-sharing?

I don’t really know the answer to that. I try and trust my instincts. And most of all, I try and be safe and smart about my choices. I don’t share every aspect of my life. I don’t share where we are at every minute of the day, or check in via social media. I also don’t share where my kids go to school or what the outside of my house looks like, or my maiden name. I know so many details about me can be found with a simple online search….and that scares me. So I try to do what I can to live my life, share it with my readers, yet still feel safe.

Something I struggle with is being recognized when I’m out in public. Don’t get me wrong…it doesn’t happen that often. But it happens. And I actually LOVE meeting readers and love it when you stop me and introduce yourself, so please keep on doing it! But a lot of people recognize my kids before they even see me. Which is mind boggling. And a little scary. I’ve taught Hudson, my five-year-old, that just because someone knows his name, it does not mean that we know them. There are people who “know” him through school or church or one of his activities, not just this blog. Thankfully, he’s a little shy and doesn’t like to talk to anyone he doesn’t know well.

Hudson is getting to an age where he probably doesn’t want me bragging about him or spilling any of his secrets online. Not that I would do that….but that’s why you won’t see a lot of personal information about him on here. You may read a story about a special summer adventure we went on, or about how proud I am to be his mom…but you won’t see anything about his personal life and the day-to-day of being a five-year-old. I’m trying to respect his privacy.

So I try and make most of my posts about me, and my experience as a mom….because isn’t that what everyone is interested in? I know as a reader I care more about connecting with other moms like me, and less about the details of someone’s child’s life. Obviously I’m going to share photos of my kids along the way….but if they ever ask me to stop, then I will respect their wishes. After all, it’s me who is choosing to share my life online, not them.

My kids are going to grow up in such a different world than I did. Teaching my children how to navigate the online world and be safe is extremely important to me. And being safe online starts with me. There are so many resources available on Allstate’s website that I have found invaluable as a mom. So much of my life is online. This blog, social media, online shopping, online banking….it’s crazy. So being safe while I am online is a priority.

Allstate has so many great tips for understanding your digital footprint – anything you do online leaves a trail of your personal data. Allstate wants to help everyone learn how to make smart choices to keep you and your family safe. They have this great quiz you can take to learn more about your digital footprint. I found it so helpful and it really made me stop and think about how I use technology and what I can do differently to make sure my data is secure. Once you learn more about your digital footprint, you can also learn ways to manage it here.

How do you keep yourself and your family safe online? I’d love to hear your tips!

This post was written as part of the Allstate Influencer Program and sponsored by Allstate. All opinions are mine. As the nation’s largest publicly held personal lines insurer, Allstate is dedicated not only to protecting what matters most–but to guiding people to live the Good Life, every day.

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Comments

  1. Mary Leigh says

    June 11, 2018 at 3:13 pm

    This is a great post! It is so important to really consider these things especially as bloggers who share so much online. Where do we draw the line? It’s good to decide ahead of time what you’re comfortable with! And YES! to respecting our kids’ privacy!

  2. Jen Tucker says

    June 12, 2018 at 7:03 am

    Great post and a topic I’m really interested in as a newer blogger. My biggest challenge has been: how do I be authentic as possible in sharing true life when basically 99% revolves around my kids while shielding and protecting THEM (a non-negotiable, of course)? I’d love to hear your policy on sharing photos, as this scares me the most. This might sound silly, but do you ever worry about them being seen or taken by people with bad intentions? Thanks again for sharing — I’ll have to take that quiz!

  3. ashley peavey says

    June 14, 2018 at 12:40 am

    These are such great tips. It can be so scary sharing so much online sometimes!

  4. Aly Funk says

    June 14, 2018 at 6:28 am

    This is all so true and there is such a fine line for me when it comes to sharing with my readers. Great post with great information!

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