Every inch of every page was filled front and back and the little gold lock kept the contents of my diary safe from prying eyes. I recorded every dream, fear, parental injustice, and teenage catastrophe in the pages of my very private, and always hidden, little blue book.
But a lot has changed since then hasn’t it? While parents today found safety in personal solace (and a good Boston album) growing up, our kids inhabit a far different landscape where impulsive sharing and unbridled posting is the celebrated norm. A quick scan of most any social network and the comments being shared by teens make it clear that diaries have gone digital . . . and parents are often clueless about their kids’ online rants.
While psychologists have long encouraged private journaling as one of the most powerful tools for working through feelings, the temptation of digital sharing—and…
