Lauren Conrad on Mommy-Shaming and Why She Doesn’t Instagram Her Son

At 31 years old, Lauren Conrad doesn’t consider herself a millennial. “I feel like I’m right at the breaking point,” she says. It’s an age where she has an Instagram, but doesn’t use it religiously.

Conrad, best known for her time on MTV’s reality shows, “Laguna Beach” and “The Hills,” has a conflicted relationship with social media. After spending nearly nine years on reality television, where every breakup, makeup, and teary mascara fight was broadcast to the world (whether she wanted to or not), Conrad finally feels like she’s in the driver’s seat.

Photo: Sara Jaye Weiss/Kellogg’s

MORE: How Jaime King’s Bullied Childhood Influenced Her Gender-Neutral Parenting

“I’ve spent so many years on reality television where I had to share as much of my life as they wanted, so now, I feel like I’m able to keep things more private,” she says at the grand opening of Kellogg’s cereal café at New York City’s Union Square. (Her favorite cereal growing up was Rice Krispies.)

I’ve spent so many years on reality television, so now, I feel like I’m able to keep things more private.

Conrad’s past is likely why she’s wary with what she shares online and curates her social media to only things she’s “comfortable with.”

“To be able to enjoy moments with myself and not need to broadcast them is so special to me,” Conrad says. “I do share little things, but I’m definitely not an over-sharer. I only share what I’m comfortable with. I feel like you don’t need to put everything out there.”

It’s a shame that women aren’t more supportive of each other.

Conrad’s caution toward social media is also likely why you’ll be hard-pressed to find many pictures of her 5-month-old son, Liam, whom she shares with her husband, William Tell, on her Instagram. After seeing other famous moms mommy-shamed on social media, Conrad “purposefully” kept photos of her son off Instagram to avoid being scrutinized.

“I haven’t [experienced mommy-shaming], but I have purposefully not posted a lot about my child,” she says. “Only because, especially as a first-time mom, there’s already so much pressure on you. I don’t feel like putting any more. It’s hard. It’s one of the hardest times in your life and it’s a shame that women aren’t more supportive of each other.”

Photo: Sara Jaye Weiss/ Kellogg’s

MORE: Ashley Benson Is Over Photoshop and Playing ‘Pointless Fillers for Men’

Though Conrad admits she hasn’t “really thought about” whether she would endorse reality television for her son’s future, she has put some thought into if she would allow him to watch her on “The Hills.” “I don’t think I would necessarily sit him down and show him clips,” she says. “But I think you can’t control what your kids want to watch alone.”

As a first-time mom, there’s already so much pressure on you. I don’t feel like putting any more.

But first, Conrad assures, there are a lot of steps before she needs to cross that bridge. “Right now, we’re just really focused on him being tiny and cute and learning how to smile,” she says. “We haven’t gotten that far.”