GUARDED BUT TRULY GENUINE
Aquick glance at Mikaela Lagdameo Martinez’s social media shows that the mother of three has a pretty charmed life. For Mika though, that is not always the truth. “What I try to avoid is oversharing so that I still have private moments to myself,” she says. Deciding what to post is not hard for her, because she knows she is true to herself. As someone who doesn’t consciously curate her Instagram feed, she nevertheless understands the value of keeping it nice. “Of course I like to post the ‘better’ photos but I’m definitely not one to stress about editing,” Mika says. “If I like the photo I’ll post it. If not, then I won’t.” To mix things up, she’ll alternate photo styles, posting posed photos or flat lays amidst more spontaneous moments. “So if you actually check my page it’s not the most perfect looking feed but it’s decent,” she says, laughing.
Mika remembers that when social media first started, it was a lot more unrestrained. “Back when it all started I used to post things that I see around me—sand, shadows of people, my drink for the day, people, random things,” she says. “Now it’s practically a business, a means of communication, a way for ‘background checks’ and real-time news. It is crazy! I never thought it would be that way.”
As of writing, Mika has 197k followers, people who follow her content for her effortless style and approachable personality. With a high follower count comes business opportunities like sponsored content. Mika enjoys doing branded content but cautions that she has stayed quite selective with what she decides to do. “I used to do a lot of modeling and commercials, so I feel that this is definitely where it’s all going,” she says. “But I only accept jobs that I can truly say. Yes, I believe in it. I have honestly turned down several [jobs] just because I feel like I cannot promote it with conviction. I want to remain reliable especially when it comes to sponsored content.”
As a mother of three children, privacy is always in her mind when she decides what and what not to post. “I hear my husband’s voice reminding me to keep some moments to ourselves—sometimes for safety and really just for the moment,” says Mika. “I also at times think to myself—will sharing this benefit anyone in any way?”
Recently on the Washington Post, a Mommy Blogger wrote an opinion piece about how her daughter discovered her life shared online. The daughter displayed her unhappiness at the situation while the mother said she would not stop posting, but allowed her daughter some leeway in being able to decide what to post about her. The mother received a multitude of opinions for her stance.
Mika keeps in mind that her own children are people too, with the ability to make decisions about how they want to be perceived in her online content. “With my youngest who’s turning 3 this year, what I keep in mind is to make sure that any of the photos up are not things that will embarrass him, they’re mostly proud moments,” she says. She is cognizant that someday this will affect them. “I guess it’s safe to share more about myself rather than the many milestones of my kids and wait until they can share them for themselves,” she says.
With children growing up in the social media era, she and her husband made the decision to allow their two oldest kids to open their own Instagram page. Her eldest, Noelle, is 15 and has her own YouTube channel. “She shoots her own videos, edits them herself, and it’s in line with what she plans to take up in university, which is film,” Mika says proudly. “But before they post anything they always check with us first.”
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