Wednesday 1 June 2016

The troubles of being a teenage blogger


I was recently discussing with a fellow blogger named Jade Millard (you can find her blog here and her twitter here) about what it was like to be a teenage blogger. All the good points, all the bad points, and the other things that fit in between. We had a lot to touch on and we both had many stories to share with each other. Since we both had so much to say, we decided to work together on a collaboration post, sharing all our thoughts and feelings with you! So make sure you go on over to Jade's blog to see her post too!

Now before I start, there's something we want to share with you guys! After talks about our first collaboration, we started coming up with even more ideas of posts we could do that would benefit the teenage blogging community. We had ideas bouncing off each other left right and centre! We are both so passionate about making a difference for us teenage bloggers and helping others out, that we felt like it was our calling to do something bigger and better to help those like us. To build a community for people like us!
We're thinking of doing a series of blog posts monthly, directed at teenage bloggers! Now, we hope that the more posts we make the further we go with this series, and we've already made some plans for the future if people are willing to join us! So stay tuned because we've got some great things coming!

Anyways, here's to the main point of the blog. I'm going to share with you 3 things that I struggle with as a teenage blogger.

Being 16, I don't think that people take me that seriously. The majority of bloggers I follow are quite older than me, and I also feel intimidated by that. I'm quite scared to voice my opinion because to a lot of people I'm still seen as only a kid and feel like I might be deemed to be uneducated about certain topics.

Furthermore, I feel like people may not want to read my blog purely due to my age. That may be completely false but I just cannot budge that feeling. People like readigng things that they can relate to but can someone over 5 years older than me do that? I feel that a lot of teenagers could enjoy my blog and benefit from some of my posts, but the thing is, not many teenagers actually even read blogs. None of my friends do, that's for sure. I'm even scared of making blogger friends because a twenty-something-year-old probably doesn't want to talk to a 16-year-old and there aren't many teenage bloggers out there.

One thing that I really dislike is all the opportunities that I miss. I've been invited to a couple of meetups before, but because I don't really shout my age from the top of the rooftops, people forget I'm sixteen; I would be totally out of place and mostly, totally unwanted. I mean I wish I could go but I'd look like an absolute plonker. Being younger does limit the things I can do,  can't just go on a train by myself for few hours to go to an event.  I don't think I've ever seen a blogging event or meet up directed towards teen bloggers, which I wish was something I could change. Like us teen bloggers do exist, and although we may be young, I know that we'd still like to meet likeminded people just like any aged blogger would!

Lastly with my age comes a fear. A fear of being ridiculed, of being told I'm "too young". I'm scared of people on twitter and twitter chats finding out my age because I can't nudge the fear of people not wanting to talk to me. The weirdest thing is that I'm self-conscious about my age when blogging. I mean it's just an age, just an amount of years I've been alive! But because so many older bloggers follow me there's always the voice in my head thinking "do they know?" or "what if they find out". It may sound stupid but that's just the way I feel. But I believe that us teen bloggers are great and fabulous and all derserve to shine!

Thank you so much for reading this post! If you're a teenager blogger yourself, can you relate to this post? On the other hand, if you're not what're your opinions on this post? Make sure to leave all your thoughts and social media below so Jade and I can find you, and also be sure to use the hashtag #TeenageTeam if you want to get involved!

If you want to talk to any of us you can find us here:
Our email: ttab@gmail.com

My contact details:
Twitter: @tstainedlauren
Instagram: tea.stained
Bloglovin': https://www.bloglovin.com/blogs/tea-stained-lauren-14400811
Email: laurenjadeostler@gmail.com

Jade's contact details:
Twitter: @jademillardx
Instagram: jademillard_
Bloglovin': https://www.bloglovin.com/blogs/jade-millard-13929405?referrer_context=blog_search_autocomplete
Email: beautyobsessedgirl@gmail.com

Have a great day!
Lauren xx




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30 comments

  1. This is such an amazing idea you and Jade have! I feel like I can relate to your posts being a teenage blogger myself and I would love to get involved! I definitely worry I am too young to fit in with things like Twitter chats sometimes too, and I would love to do something about it! x

    Erin // This is such an inspiring post! I clicked on this as soon as I saw it, not only because I always enjoy your blog post but the title really related to me. I really want to get involved in this because as a teenage blogger I feel I have the same problems as you! I would love to start a community of teenage bloggers, maybe if enough of us get involved we could start a group chat or something and take it from there? I am so happy you and Lauren decided to do something about this - I will have to go and read her post next too! You have definitely inspired me to get involved! x

    Erin // Everything Erin

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    1. Thank you so much Erin! I'm glad you found this post relatable! We hope that more people come across our posts so we can build a platform for teenage bloggers like us and hope to make a big chat in the upcoming future! Thank you for taking your time to read this post! <3
      Lauren xx

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  2. Hia girls! My name is Lydia and I'm a sixteen year old blogger- and it is both fun and a challenge. I would love to be involved with this movement- I have also recently started a new blog as I felt my old blog felt too young- so I completely agree with teen troubles! Lydia Eve www.lydia-eve.blogspot.co.uk xx

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    1. Hi Lydia! Thank you so much for getting in touch and leaving a comment on this post. It's so lovely that you want to get involved - we really do appreciate it! :)

      We will always be here to support and encourage you!!

      Jade <3 xx

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  3. Hi lovely! I'm so glad you agree too and can relate to this post! I'll definitely check out your blog and social media, us teenagers need to support each other and I've got your back! I hope your new blog works out for you :)
    Lauren xx

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  4. This is definitely something I would love to be apart of as I said over on Jades blog. The struggle of meetups is definitely something that bothers me too. I've also noticed that the meetups aimed at teenage bloggers seem to be lacking, or should I say non existent. So a while ago I actually tried to organise one, however the plans fell through and so it didn't happen. So if you guys organise one then you'll have to let me know because I will definitely be there!! I also can relate with the fact that none of my friends read blogs either, I haven't even told them about mine because of the fear of them thinking 'well who cares what she's got to say, she's only 16' I just want teenage bloggers to be more accepted in the world. Anyway so count me in for anything you do for this project! xx

    Kate// katerosexo1.blogspot.com

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    1. Thank you for reading this post kate! I'm so sorry to hear about the meet up, but Jade and I hope that we can organise one together in the future for sure! Only a hand full of my friends know about my blog and I'm still unsure how they feel about it!! I guess I just have to deal with it for now! Have a lovely week <3
      Lauren xx

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  5. I love yours and jades post on this topic! I agree with everything you say! I don't want to go to meet ups because everyone will be a lot louder than me and that scares me a little bit! It definitely doesn't stop me in Twitter chats though as I love conversing with everyone regardless of age! I can't wait to see more posts on this topic xx

    Thrifty vintage fashion

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    1. Thank you Nicole! I hope that one day meet ups for teen bloggers will be possible, or at least if I'm still blogging in a few years from now I'll be able to go to one there! Although I'm not too bad taking part in chats, it's hosting them that I'm a bit weird about! I absolutely love hosting chats but I'm scared if people won't take me seriously because of my age!!
      Thank you so much and have a great week!!
      Lauren xx

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  6. Hey! I found you through Jade's post! I think this is an amazing idea, because everything you and Jade talked about is so true! I sometimes feel scared to join in to Twitter conversations with other bloggers, as a majority of them appear to be adults or a few years older than me, so I can relate to this a lot.
    I'd love to take part in this as I think it could help a lot of bloggers in our age range to become more known in the community, and maybe help their confidence with blogging!
    Charlotte <3
    http://vieaveccharlotte.blogspot.co.uk/

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  7. Lovely,lovely post! I can relate so much and I definitely agree with the age thing; it's so frustrating at times! xx

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  8. As a teenager blogger myself, this is totally relatable and I would love to get involved as well :) Cass xxx
    www.heyitscassxo.blogspot.co.uk

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  9. This was such an interesting post to read! I started blogging at 16 and I'm only 20 now so I definitely related reading a lot of these points, when I first started out I remember feeling SO young and out of place especially in relation to events but honestly the blogosphere is SO inclusive and welcoming - I have blogger friends that are 16 and ones that are nearer to 30! I'll definitely give Jade's post a read too xx
    www.britishmermaid.blogspot.co.uk

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    1. That's so interesting!! It's nice to see a different perspective! I hope that I'll still be blogging at 20, that seems like a great achievement! Thank you so much for reading this post (:
      Lauren xx

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  10. I'm 16 too and I can definitely relate to this, being so young is the reason I've kept stopping and starting with different blogs but I'm here to stay this time hopefully! I would love to get involved too xxx
    http://elsstudyspace.blogspot.co.uk

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    1. If you want to get I loved you can DM me on Twitter! Thank you for reading!!
      Lauren xx

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  11. Finally! Someone who understands! I've had multiple blogs in the past (before my current one) and a major boundary I felt, and do still feel if i'm being honest with you, is that I'm to young to be doing this kinda thing! Even though it's a love of mine I've always been put of by the fact I'm only a teen, so I gave up blogging for months. But the day I decide to come back and create another blog I find things are changing! Thank you so much for this.

    Lots of love, Danika XX
    www.itsjusttypical.wordpress.com

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    1. No thank YOU Danika! I'm so glad that you're back to blogging again!! Lauren xx

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  12. I definitely feel that teenage bloggers can be overlooked but there are more teen bloggers out there than I thought! x

    Eleanorclaudie.com

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    1. There are loads more than I thought, and I wouldn't have realised without all these people stumbling on this post!!
      Lauren xx

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  13. I feel so strongly about this topic too! I'm 13 so waaaay younger still but the thing is people read my posts thinking that I'm so much older and tbh I'm still figuring out whether I like that or not. Discovered the TATB account on twitter and cannot wait to meet other teen bloggers x
    Morgan | www.justmorgs.com

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  14. Hi, I loved reading into your perspective of blogging from your standpoint, It's always really interesting to see things from another angle. Blogging wouldn't have been something I would have had the courage or motivation to do at 16, so I applaud you from the first off. You come across thoughtful, intelligent and articulate, which are more important as a blogger, and as a person, than your age.

    I think for me when reading blogs and connecting with other bloggers, it's not so much age that could be a boundary, but more like common ground or relatability. Beauty, life hacks, certain types of blogs transcend age barriers, but some topics, advice, personal stories, even other things like fashion can sometimes be more age aimed or appropriate. For me I like to read blogs that will either inspire or advise me, that I can take away something relatable. So for the past few months I've been looking for graduate advice, or open minded women who can have conversations about say their university experience, feminist issues, things like sex or relationships, which I wouldn't feel as comfortable reading from a teenage blog, because with me at 21, I feel we wouldn't have the same life experience or level of interest in those topics perhaps. But if a teenage blogger wrote about things I cared about, and wrote about them well, then I don't care about their age. I don't know if this is being phrased well at all!

    I think teenage bloggers should be encouraged and given a supporting environment to learn and grow! Your age shouldn't be a barrier to reaching out to like minded people and connecting, if you have common interests then it's always great to talk to new people. If they have a problem with your age, it could be for a reason, say they don't talk about age appropriate topics in their content, but if not, you had the confidence to reach out and they didn't spare the time to connect with a blogger with whom they could share ideas etc, so you can only move on from that. The freedom to travel etc will come, always keep your safety as a priority <3 Good luck with everything x

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  15. I don't understand why I didn't comment when I read this before haha! It was probably because I am so so forgetful and forgot to go back and comment xD. I completely agree with all the points you said Lauren! I often feel really nervous that people will just think less of me because of my age and won't want to spend time listening to me. I'm so glad you and Jade started the Teenage Team. :)

    helloimeve.blogspot.co.uk

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  16. I totally understand I made a new blog on WordPress and I've been blogging for 4 months and most of my readers are a lot older than me I'm 17 and I can't really find teen blogger friends and I am still new to blogging so I haven't been Invited to any meetups yet but I hope one day there can be a meet up for younger bloggers and I hope it will be easier to make teen blogger friends I would love some.none of my friends blog or understand the blogger world.

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  17. I came across your Twitter and stumbled upon this post and wow! As a 17 year old blogger who has been posting since I was 15, I can relate so much! This is such a fantastic idea and an amazing way for everyone with the same passion and troubles to relate and communicate
    https://lilydeal.blogspot.co.uk/?m=1


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  18. I've just read this post and I didn't think I could possibly relate more to a post! I feel like you guys have really spoken out for teenage bloggers and I can't wait to see what else you guys come up with!

    http://c0ffeessions.blogspot.co.uk

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  19. I've never found something I can relate to more! I am 16, and I have been blogging since before I was 12 years old. I think it's super cool that you are trying to get more teenage bloggers because it's kind of tough being a teen blogger in a world full of successful twenties blogger. I feel like a lot of teenagers don't think teens blog, like I know so many people who have given up on blogging because of not getting enough views. Everyone knows of youtube, I feel like blogging should become a bigger thing. Whatever you come up with to bring more attention to teen bloggers, I am all for it.

    Christina/ thisfashiongirl.com

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  20. this is what i have unconciously been waiting for! being a blogger at the age of 15 i most certainly know all the troubles listed above haha :) what a great idea! (sorry i tend to get a little too exited)

    xx Solange
    creativepineapples.blogspot.com
    twitter:@solangesbloggin

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  21. I'm a teenage blogger that has only started blogging. But somehow I relate I feel if I tell people I'm 13 and 7 months then I won't be noticed, almost be unknown.

    Thank you the blog was helpful to tell me not to be bothered by that.

    My links: @thephandomfish_ (insta)

    Ratheunicorn.blogspot.com

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