I shared a photo on Instagram a while ago, but when my mom saw it, she got upset with both me and the post. I had only done it for fun, but her attitude surprised me. I know my family’s strict stance on social media, but I find it concerning that it is taken so seriously. Do you think this is excessive, or is there really a boundary?
I had also shared a funny photo at some point, and my mom freaked out for 3 days. Families always take social media too seriously.
What was this photo? Is it something that embarrasses anyone?
@kahvebitmeden it was a silly thing, I was pretending to be an umbrella as a joke. I don’t think there was anything to exaggerate.
@soran, why don’t you look at it from a different perspective? Maybe your mom found it humiliating. Their generation can’t handle jokes on social media.
Families’ reactions to such things are often based on their own fears. You can resolve this by clearly asking what they find frustrating.
@benbisorayim but I don’t think there’s any need to think this deeply. It could just be a simple trip. There’s no need to stress about solving it.
Grandparents usually think, “Is our girl crazy or something?” That’s why they look at jokes in a worried way. But I think you should be direct: say, “I don’t understand why my posts stress you out so much.” The real reason might turn out to be something funny.
Maybe the issue is not just about the umbrella conversation, but rather a general discomfort with your entire social media presence. Have they commented on anything else so far? There could be a deeper unease at play here.
Perhaps your mother doesn’t know your environment/friends and has a fear that you might end up in the wrong places. She may be questioning the background rather than the sharing. A little reassurance might help.
Maybe your mother reacted to something you weren’t directly involved in? A joking remark about umbrellas might have raised thoughts in her mind like “is she making fun of someone, or throwing shade at someone”. Could she have interpreted it as a message meant for someone else?
Maybe your mother pondered the umbrella joke not from your perspective, but rather what someone seeing you imitate an umbrella would think. If she thought like someone looking from the outside, she might have exaggerated the standard. So, was it the content of the joke or the visual that was disturbing?
Maybe something from his own past triggered it, like he was misunderstood in a social setting during his own youth or something. Could the current things be making him feel that way too? Sometimes it makes strange associations.
I think it’s important to know exactly when and with whom you shared it. For example, did they see it in a crowded family gathering, or did it become an issue because you showed it? Your mother might sometimes be affected by the reaction of her own circle; it may not be directly related to you.
Perhaps Annen didn’t understand the humor in the umbrella joke and instead attributed a completely different meaning to it. You know, like those conspiracy theories that say, “Oh, is this umbrella actually a dig at someone, or is it a reference to us?” Sometimes our folks analyze humor as if they were conducting an FBI investigation… It’s a tension, but it might have grown out of nothing.