The facts are these: I grew up with a very prying overprotective mother (who I love) but always needed to be kept away from my personal life. She is one of those strict Southern Baptist women who, to this day, thinks I am getting too old to be married.

This woman would go through the cookies on the computer every night and read anything you’d stayed logged into. And trust me, if you wanted to keep using the computer, you’d make sure everything was clean. This has led me to be pretty paranoid about my internet usage in general.

Step One: Facebook patrol. I scan every photo that goes up. Anything even slightly scandalous gets put on private. Any swearing gets blocked almost immediately. The only time my mother sees a status from me is if it involves Jesus or loving my family.

Step Two: Twitter and blogs. I have a few blogs and a Twitter, both only used for school. So I keep it school appropriate. I want a career one day. So if my mother ever stumbles across them, I’m not embarrassed.

Step Three: Passwords. Passwords are important, and my main point here. They speak directly to security, and not necessarily overprotective mothers.

We’ve all seen this one.

Once my mother found out my password in 9th grade, because I had written in the very back of my diary (which she also loved reading, so I soon learned never to keep a diary). She found out that my password was the same for my Facebook, email, Instant Messenger (back in the days of AOL), etc. That day she discovered I am a convinced atheist, rampant Democrat, and have a severe swearing problem. That night, dinner was not a friendly affair.

I’ve been living away from home for only two years now, but I’ve relaxed a lot, especially where passwords are concerned. I used to change them every month. But yesterday I got an email from GMU’s IT service, reminding me I needed to change my student password, as it has been 180 days. Then I realized not only had I not changed any of my passwords in almost a year, but all my passwords were the same (a lesson I should have learned in 9th grade).

Today I have a lot more to conceal than my love of four letter words. I’ve got bank, Microsoft, and Amazon accounts all directly linked to my credit card. I’ve got a Twitter feed that is completely public to anyone, and it has to stay appropriate (again with that career thing). I save all my files online, novels and essays and important documents for school. My computer is directly connected to my phone, which holds every person I’ve ever cared about or need to reach.

In this day and age, losing my internet identity would not only be a hassle, it could ruin my life.