Remember when your biggest worry was your mom finding your report card? Those were simpler times. Now we live in an era where our parents have discovered Facebook, Instagram, and God help us all – TikTok.
It started innocently enough. Dad asked for help setting up a Facebook account to “keep in touch with family.” Fast forward six months, and he’s commenting “LOL” on obituaries and thinking it means “Lots of Love.” Mom, meanwhile, has become the family paparazzi, posting every family dinner like she’s running a food blog called “Susan’s Kitchen Chronicles.”
The real nightmare begins when they discover your old photos. You know the ones – from your “experimental” phase in college where you thought frosted tips were a good idea. Suddenly, your professional LinkedIn network is seeing baby photos with captions like “My little angel, 1995 ❤️❤️❤️” with approximately 47 heart emojis.
And don’t even get me started on their friend requests. Your mom is now connected to your college roommate, your ex from high school, and somehow the barista from that coffee shop you went to once in 2019. She knows more about your social circle than the FBI.
The pinnacle of this digital disaster? When they discover reaction emojis. Every single post gets the crying-laughing emoji, regardless of content. Birthday wishes, funeral announcements, your promotion at work – everything is absolutely hilarious to them.
But here’s the thing – as mortifying as it is when your dad shares a minion meme that says “Coffee first, adulting second” at 6 AM, there’s something endearing about watching them navigate this digital world with the enthusiasm of explorers discovering a new continent.
