The bloggy overshare

In a recent post on the New York Times Motherlode blog, Lisa Belkin ponders whether Mom bloggers are jinxed, since it seems every day there is another mom blogger facing disaster.

The disasters, I assure you, are real. But is this the question?

I mean, come on. Everyone, at some point, faces adversity. Every person – no matter how rich, how gorgeous, how lucky, finds themselves face-to-face with a struggle. Whether it materializes as a health issue, a death, infertility, or divorce, no person on this earth ever gets away scot-free.

But bloggers are blabbers. They have a platform to publicize their most private moments – and readers eat it up.

Does it sound as if I’m scorning bloggers who make public their most intimate moments? I’m not. In fact, my favorite blogs include those that follow the personal lives of women who are facing turmoil or are reaching out to their community for support. Everyone likes to feel less alone, and those bloggers who put it all out there succeed in helping those of us who don’t have the guts to “overshare” feel less, well, like we’re floundering. Plus, they typically get lots of virtual hugs – and which of us couldn’t use more hugs?

I wish I had the gift of the overshare. There have been many times that I’ve wanted to comment on some post to say YES! I’m living that nightmare too! or post about some serious challenge I faced. But it’s just not me.

Though I wish it were.

Jill Notkin blogs at The Daily Grind of a Work at Home Mom when she’s not tweeting @AlexCaseyBaby. She is also the Managing Director of MotherTalk division at Mom Central Consulting.

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