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Last week, my first Business Insider article went live.

I was excited because, after 5 years of client work, this was the first time getting paid for a story that was 100% mine.

I felt excited for about an hour.

But then…

I got a Facebook message from my Aunt that said, “Wow! I just saw your article on YAHOO! How cool!”

And my stomach dropped.

Yahoo?? I didn’t write an article for Yahoo.

I wrote a personal essay that was tucked safely behind a paywall on Business Insider’s Lifestyle » Parenting column, answering the call for writers who could “pitch a ‘feel good’ story for one of those hard parenting moments, like a toddler tantrum.”

THAT’s the audience I wrote the piece for. Not freaking Yahoo.

Sure enough, I clicked on the link, and Yahoo had swiped my article.

It was going VIRAL…

And NOT the kind you want.

Within just a couple of hours of my essay going live, there were hundreds of hate comments on the Yahoo post. (Today, there are over 1500.)

And what was the Yahoo mob mad about, you ask?

They were enraged that a mother could be so entitled and inconsiderate to take a baby on a plane and make all those passengers suffer through the cries.

Here’s a smol sampling:

As someone who’s flown a lot since my daughter was a newborn, I had no idea that taking a baby on a plane was even a "controversial" topic. 🙃

The irony is that the commenters were proving the point of my essay.

The point was that digital-age parents have an endless amount of advice coming at us from all angles, and it adds a lot of weird stress to our plates.

At least, that’s how it felt for me.

As a brand new mom, I tried wayyy too hard to do everything “perfectly” (whatever that means).

After this particular difficult flight with my baby, I finally started understanding that no matter how hard I try, most things are out of my control. The only thing I can control is showing up as a consistent, safe place.

Another phrase for that is secure attachment, which is infinitely more important than any parenting content I could consume online. Realizing that was a big turning point for me.

But apparently, most of the Yahoo commenters were incapable of reading a story with nuance, and they proved my point by dropping 1500 comments of aggressive, unwarranted parenting advice.

Thanks, I guess?

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I’m usually pretty open to critical feedback on content because it’s data I can use to improve the next thing.

But NOT when it’s bullies on the internet who have nothing better to do than leave vile comments on a Yahoo article at 2 pm on a Friday.

After scrolling through the comments for about 15-20 minutes, I realized that it wasn't worth my time.

I’ll admit, though... for a few minutes, I thought I’d never share a public personal essay again.

Because it *does* feel different when people attack content that’s a part of YOU versus something objective you’ve written for a business.

Luckily, this experience has shown me that I have thicker skin than I used to.

And it helped me define a boundary that I’ve been looking for words for:

As long as I can stand by it AND have the energy to defend it, content is worth sharing. Bullies or no bullies.

Everyone is taking a risk when they share content.

For some, it’s the risk of vulnerability. For others, it’s the risk of visibility.

Usually, it’s a bit of both.

Reader, is it worth it?
​
I guess we all get to decide that for ourselves.

Talk soon,

Erika

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Thanks for hanging out! I'm Erika, a content strategist, freelance ghostwriter, and fractional content lead @ ZenMaid. When I'm not writing this newsletter, I'm probably avoiding Yahoo.