Woman Exposes ‘Instagram Perfect’ Mom After She Pays No Attention To Her Child At A Pool, Shows You Shouldn’t Believe Social Media
Deep down, we know that what we see on our social media feeds rarely reflects reality – we are only seeing the best, most interesting, funniest and most beautiful aspects of other people’s lives. Yet we are human, and the weight of comparison, constantly reinforced every time we open Instagram or Facebook, can become unbearably heavy over time if we somehow lose sight of this critical self-awareness.
An occasional reality check is therefore very welcome! Especially for young moms who might be feeling the pressure to balance their busy, often stressful lives whilst still finding the energy to ‘keep up with the Joneses’ and present an eternally happy image of themselves out to the world.
Enter Jen Flint, a Creator, Artist and Mother-of-six from Utah. Her short story about a very modern encounter at the local swimming pool resonated with hundreds of thousands of people, by highlighting the sad contrast between what people want others to see and the actual reality behind the pics.
Speaking to Bored Panda, Jen wanted to ensure that the intent of her post was not to shame the young momma at the pool. “I’m sure she had reasons for her behavior, those reasons weren’t the intent of my post though,” she told us. “No judgment on her at all.”
“The main intention of my post was to help mothers (but really it applies to fathers and teens as well) to realize that what they see on social media isn’t always real and when they scroll through perfectly staged photos of women who are better fit, on exotic vacations, wearing expensive clothes and living in spotless homes, that they need to remember not to compare themselves to what they see.”
The reaction to Jen’s post has been overwhelmingly positive, being shared over 140k times on Facebook and starting plenty of conversations about mental health, self-esteem and positive thinking. People have contacted Jen with their own stories and experiences, and we all got that little reality check we need from time to time.
“We are enough, just how we are,” Jen says. “Remember that YOU at home with your kids or YOU at work supporting your family or YOU with the spotless house or YOU with the small apartment or YOU with an extra 30 lbs of weight that’s you’d rather not have, YOU are enough. Don’t compare yourself or your situation to anyone else’s.”
“Comparison is the thief of joy, y’all!”
Here’s what people had to say about the eye-opening story
I'm getting a little tired of these anecdotes being shared by some random person, with no pictures for proof or whatever. If you didn't confront the person then and there why should anyone care what you have to say about it? Why are people getting mad at a story that for all we know could be completely made up for some likes?
It's always about the likes, sadly.
I’m all about those thumbs personally. Saying whatever hallow narrative is repeated the most for an article for those sweet sweet up votes
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Yes, the mom police and women hating women is ridiculous. I hate how out of control it is and yet at the same time, the same women, preach sharing and caring.
Fair point.
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Confront her to say what? "You should play with your kid"? "You should be less vain"? Anything she'd say would enter in the "none of your business what I do" category. At least, the anecdote may help other mothers who fell they're not enough. Now, being true or not, this is another matter.
@yo momma, I don't disagree. But you have moms that feel they're not enough because of this (see the reactions in the post).
THATS what you took from this? The story might be fake?
well you clearly missed the point of the story if you wrote this. This is a story to prove to imperfect mothers that they dont have to doubt themselves when they see perfect posts of other moms, because they can be fake. it is not only a moral for the fake people, it has also been written to encourage and support and reassure others. if you re tired by such thing maybe consider your possible lack of perspective next time you go nagging on the internet.
Maybe it's just my lack of perspective, but I can't help thinking there might be ways of saying no one is perfect and Instagram doesn't reflect reality 100% (no duh) without disparaging another person you hardly know in the process. This whole mentality that if someone looks good/dresses good it would make you feel bad about yourself is just toxic. You shouldn't compare yourself to other people anyway, not just because they may not be "perfect". Everyone does their own thing and what's imperfect/perfect is completely subjective.
Idk not great but I can think of worse ways to neglect your kids. Will the kid later have parent issues sure but who doesn’t. Could always be better or worse
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This person just publicly shames someone (granted no ID) online because they don't parent the same way. THIS is what is holding women back, not the patriarchy. Women's biggest enemy is other women in my experience, always trying to undermine and tear each other down
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So then if you ever have a story to tell nobody will ever believe you, this is a place for people to share there stories not for you to criticize them, how do you know it’s not true why would someone make this up.
It's the Internet Kirah, don't be so naive. Also BoredPanda is not a microblogging site and there is a difference between sharing something with your friends and publicly putting on blast a whole group of people (young, well-maintained moms on Insta) with a story that has nothing to back it up. There are better ways to boost other moms' confidence.
She didn't want to shame but she wrote a highly detailed account of her being a bad mom... I find that very difficult to believe, I'm afraid. Why couldn't she use an example of herself rather than shaming somebody else? Or perhaps she's saying she's a perfect mother.
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
She didn't say a single bad or negative thing about the mom at the pool.
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
Seems like she just narrated what happened. You're the one making a judgment.
All I can say is that we are living in a very toxic era (and this can be applied to both sides of the story).
I'm getting a little tired of these anecdotes being shared by some random person, with no pictures for proof or whatever. If you didn't confront the person then and there why should anyone care what you have to say about it? Why are people getting mad at a story that for all we know could be completely made up for some likes?
It's always about the likes, sadly.
I’m all about those thumbs personally. Saying whatever hallow narrative is repeated the most for an article for those sweet sweet up votes
This comment has been deleted.
Yes, the mom police and women hating women is ridiculous. I hate how out of control it is and yet at the same time, the same women, preach sharing and caring.
Fair point.
This comment has been deleted.
Confront her to say what? "You should play with your kid"? "You should be less vain"? Anything she'd say would enter in the "none of your business what I do" category. At least, the anecdote may help other mothers who fell they're not enough. Now, being true or not, this is another matter.
@yo momma, I don't disagree. But you have moms that feel they're not enough because of this (see the reactions in the post).
THATS what you took from this? The story might be fake?
well you clearly missed the point of the story if you wrote this. This is a story to prove to imperfect mothers that they dont have to doubt themselves when they see perfect posts of other moms, because they can be fake. it is not only a moral for the fake people, it has also been written to encourage and support and reassure others. if you re tired by such thing maybe consider your possible lack of perspective next time you go nagging on the internet.
Maybe it's just my lack of perspective, but I can't help thinking there might be ways of saying no one is perfect and Instagram doesn't reflect reality 100% (no duh) without disparaging another person you hardly know in the process. This whole mentality that if someone looks good/dresses good it would make you feel bad about yourself is just toxic. You shouldn't compare yourself to other people anyway, not just because they may not be "perfect". Everyone does their own thing and what's imperfect/perfect is completely subjective.
Idk not great but I can think of worse ways to neglect your kids. Will the kid later have parent issues sure but who doesn’t. Could always be better or worse
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
This person just publicly shames someone (granted no ID) online because they don't parent the same way. THIS is what is holding women back, not the patriarchy. Women's biggest enemy is other women in my experience, always trying to undermine and tear each other down
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
So then if you ever have a story to tell nobody will ever believe you, this is a place for people to share there stories not for you to criticize them, how do you know it’s not true why would someone make this up.
It's the Internet Kirah, don't be so naive. Also BoredPanda is not a microblogging site and there is a difference between sharing something with your friends and publicly putting on blast a whole group of people (young, well-maintained moms on Insta) with a story that has nothing to back it up. There are better ways to boost other moms' confidence.
She didn't want to shame but she wrote a highly detailed account of her being a bad mom... I find that very difficult to believe, I'm afraid. Why couldn't she use an example of herself rather than shaming somebody else? Or perhaps she's saying she's a perfect mother.
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
She didn't say a single bad or negative thing about the mom at the pool.
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
Seems like she just narrated what happened. You're the one making a judgment.
All I can say is that we are living in a very toxic era (and this can be applied to both sides of the story).