#Blessed and Other Bullshit on Social Media

A few years back, we had a follower who was upset with something we posted on Facebook.

LOL! Who am I kidding? People get upset with us all the time! This one, however, you may have seen. We shared side-by-side pictures of the Princess of Wales, Kate Middleton, and the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle in their wedding dresses. We simply asked, “Which dress do you like best?” What we thought would be a fun post where our followers could share their fashion and style preferences turned into accusations and name-calling.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by 𝐆𝐨𝐨𝐝𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐛𝐚𝐝𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 (@goodgirlwithbadthoughts)

One of my least favorite things about social media is that people LOOK for things to be offended by. My personal strategy is: if I see something I’m offended by, I scroll on, and if it is super offensive, I unfollow. While I love social media, especially the memes, pictures of my friends/family and their kids, and witty posts; the things I hate about social media are beginning to add up. And it seems that once one thing on a social media platform annoys me, I want to rant about them all.

So here is my rant.

I HATE all of this Bullshit on Social Media:

#blessed

I love seeing happy pictures of my friends and family but I absolutely hate when they use #blessed. It makes my skin crawl. As someone who is slowly escaping the cult of Catholicism, I think I find the word blessed extra triggering.

Do you know what “blessed” actually means? I’m assuming not, so here is the definition: consecrated; sacred; holy; sanctified. Wow, that’s a pretty high standard there for your family photos on a Christmas tree farm.

Okay, I know I’m being a bit ridiculous and that there are multiple definitions for ‘blessed’. So here’s another: Enjoying happiness or bliss; favored with blessings; happy; highly favored. I assume this is the definition most people use when they decide to caption their happy family photo #blessed.

For real though, we all know you took 20+ shots, your kids screamed, your husband rolled his eyes, you yelled at everyone, and then you heavily filtered the one decent shot… but sure, you’re #blessed.

Calling someone out for being x, y, or z while being x, y, or z yourself.

People of the internet, I’ve got some crazy news for you. It is possible to have an intelligent conversation on social media about politics or religion WITHOUT name-calling. I know, shocking. Because we’ve literally NEVER seen it happen.

I am uniquely qualified to argue about both politics and religion. I have degrees in both Political Science and Theology… but guess what? I don’t. You shouldn’t either.

My biggest issue with political and religious posts is the fighting in the comment section. The comments always spiral into name-calling and those who accuse others of being close-minded, racist, and insensitive… ALWAYS end up being the exact thing they are accusing others of.

In the post I mentioned above, we were called out for being insensitive to women’s issues… by a person who went on to refer to two successful grown women as “girls.”

Come on. Do better people. Be better.

Incessant complaining

Oh, you’re in traffic again? No one cares. We all are. This particular bit of bullshit on social media is a real Debbie Downer.

Locked out of your house? Yep, it’s only EVER happened to you.

Too many mosquitos outside? You’re right. This is obviously the only town that’s ever had mosquitos.  

You are not the only person to ever have a bad day. It is not, “just your luck.” You are no more unlucky than the rest of us. Instead of complaining, please just share a funny meme about the situation like a decent human.

Disney pictures

Disney people, this might come as a shock, but did you know you don’t HAVE to post every single picture from your trip? We can believe that you went without our entire feed being filled with daily pictures from your trip. Every. Day. For ten days. Lord help me.

Better yet, did you know that you can simply load them all as an album? Then I can decide if I want to look at them or not. One time. When that one story passes through my newsfeed.

For the love of god, please don’t caption them #blessed.

Passive aggressive meme-sharing

Yes, Karen, we all know that the meme you just shared about being the default parent was aimed at your lazy husband. You didn’t need to tag him. And I see you there, Tiffany. I know that meme you just shared about not judging new moms has your mother-in-law written all over it.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Dr. Ashurina Ream | Mental Health ✨Postpartum ✨Parenting (@psychedmommy)

Guys, just stop the passive-aggressive meme-sharing. It’s not doing what you think it’s doing. It’s just making people you haven’t seen since high school question the state of your current relationship or your family or your well-being. But… without really caring. Seriously. If you don’t want to explain the issue or ask for advice, stop the passive-aggressive bullshit on social media.

But, by all means… go ahead and make your next post a happy family pic. Don’t forget to add #blessed.

Absolute statements like: “My kid would never…”

This is the most terrifying to me. And it seems to always come up around tragedies. Specifically school shootings. Everyone rushes to the comments to let out all of their thoughts. Fear, anger, panic. These thoughts typically lead to finger-pointing (at the parents) and other parents saying, “My child would NEVER…”

Haven’t you ever heard, “Never say never?” I’d like to add “Never say always.” These definite statements are hard to escape from and they set unrealistic expectations.

When I hear a parent say, “I would absolutely know what my teenager was up to,” my heart simultaneously sinks and gets stuck in my throat. Because, would you? WOULD YOU?!? Absolute statements are terrifying. Especially in a social media world where someone is always eager to prove you wrong.

Next time, try support instead of finger-pointing. That’s what you would hope for if the roles were reversed. At least, that’s what I hope for, anyway.

What bullshit on social media gets your blood boiling? Let us know in the comments. But please don’t argue, finger-point, passive-aggressively post memes, or complain. I will lose my mind.

Pin this post and be sure to follow Vermont Moms on Pinterest!

Vermont Moms Insiders get exclusive content that you do not want to miss, so sign up today!