The social media shortcomings of Moms, Dads, Aunties, Grandparents and other familial relations are about to be exposed. Social media is a great tool, but it can be confusing (even for the most hip millennial out there). There are constant updates, unending technical difficulties and frequent changes to privacy policies and preferred settings. We can’t keep up with all the new technology that comes out, which is why we don’t have any judgment regarding those people who are easily confused by Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat.
That being said, because many older folks didn’t grow up with social media at their fingertips, the adjustment process can be difficult. This is part of the reason why older people are always the best part of social media. From Grandparents who are figuring out which buttons to push to people confusing wall posts for personal messages, the laughs just keep coming when we take a look at those who are figuring out Facebook for the first time.
1. GRANDPA WANTS TO SHOW THE WORLD HIS NEW LOOK
For this older gentleman, there’s nothing wrong with living our best life…even if that best life involves a little Photoshop. While this man might have a totally normal life, on the internet, he can be anyone he wants to be. He’s able to change his whole look with a simple press of a button; for anyone who’s really missing their freedom (or their youth), that can be an awfully tempting thing to do. This is especially true when it comes to things like tattoos.
Maybe he was turned away from getting a real tattoo, or maybe he regretted not getting this beautiful work of art permanently placed on his body when he was younger. Either way, he’s ready to embrace social media with all the awesome looks that people are usually too scared to try. His granddaughter isn’t putting up with it and she called out the fact that he’s acting a little strange. To be honest, we agree. That Photoshop job is a little odd, especially when we look at the fact that he’s bragging about all these things as if he actually does own them. Grandpa, those aren't actually $2,000 sunglasses since they're not on his face at all. He's not fooling anyone, though we appreciate the attempt.
2. GRANDMA JUST WANTS TO BE LIKE THE COOL KIDS
Nonni definitely fits in in our books. It’s always a little sad when you’ve got someone feeling peer pressure to do something. Everyone says that peer pressure is bad, and can result in some negative feelings and bad decisions. Luckily, most older people are immune to it. Having been around the block a few times, they know what they need to do to deal with other people and not have their personal choices be swayed. Nonni, however, is not one of those people.
We’re guessing she was probably in a coffee shop, as local coffee shops are millennials-with-laptops magnet zones. You can’t turn around in one of those places without seeing a youngster typing out their next great novel, which can feel incredibly intimidating to someone who might not be as technologically savvy. Those millennials can be apathetically judgey, which Nonni knows. She decided that she would send a text message to fit in, and we think she succeeded. While she could have been less on the nose than “I wanted to fit in”, we think it’s an admirable decision to prove that she can type with those young people. She’s in the big leagues now, too. No doubt she got some huge respect for this one!
3. THE GRANDMA WHO REFUSES TO PUT UP WITH MEANIES
“I’m not silly, I’m truthful” is now our new mantra. You can defend yourself for saying pretty much anything, but that doesn’t make you right when you’re dealing with someone who disagrees with you. If someone doesn’t respect your opinion and calls you silly, you need to stand up for yourself. You might not be right, but at least you can get them to stop making direct character judgments about you!
This Grandma is trying her hardest to make her soft-hearted grandkids understand that if a dog is mean, you’re more than welcome to get rid of it.
After all, nobody should have to deal with meanies, especially her grandkids. Grandma doesn’t seem to understand, though, that a dog is like a baby. You commit to them and they show you love, affection and loyalty. You commit to them for life, not just for however long you want to put up with them. You shouldn’t get rid of a dog just because they’re “a meanie” in the same way that she shouldn’t disown her grandkids just because they’re disagreeing with her. Besides, is what the dogs did really much worse than a grandchild calling her Grandma silly? We don’t think so. A bop on the nose or a bop to the heart; both of these things are pretty similar when you get right down to it.
4. WHEN YOUR PASSIVE AGGRESSIVE FACEBOOK STATUS HURTS GRANDMA'S FEELINGS
Grandmas need love, too, and sometimes we forget that. We get so wrapped up in our busy lives that we forget to give Grandma what she deserves. She needs to hear that she’s loved just as much as we do. You know that you get a little sad when you don’t have someone telling you “I love you” every other day. Grandma is the same way! Plus, love from the grandkids is a special kind of love. There’s still a freshness there that really helps Grandma feel wonderful and youthful.
This passive-aggressive status really backfired for this grandkid, as she accidentally insulted Grandma. Nobody wants to be the one who insults Grandma, especially not the grandkids. They need to support and respect their grandparents. We know that everything worked out, as we're looking at the comment chain to prove that this girl really loves her Grandma. Not only did she gently correct Grandma’s mistake, but she also reassured her that she is very appreciative and loving of Grandma. The older lady admits that she really needed to hear that before heading off to bed. That’s the beauty of social media, bringing family members together to get them what they need. (Even if what they need came out of a mistaken guilt.)
5. THIS VERY IMPORTANT FAMILY BULLETIN
Correct us if we’re wrong, but communication boards are supposed to be for important messages, right? We’re assuming that communication boards only work if there’s something to communicate. Otherwise, it turns into a general flipbook, filled with too many memories/funny anecdotes to be able to read any sort of actual message. That’s not great. This is especially true if there’s something important that needs to be communicated to the family. Something like a birth announcement or even an announcement about graduation could get long among memes,
There are so many different things that should be posted in a family communication group, but this is not one of them.
There’s no way that you should be allowed to use filters willy-nilly and then post the results on a business group. That being said, we understand that your family probably enjoys seeing silly pictures of your happy face. That’s reasonable. We all want to see our family members happy and having fun. The thing we don’t like? The fact that this shot isn’t even properly in focus. If you’re going to open that can of worms on the family bulletin page, at least make sure it’s in focus! You don’t want the grandkids making fun of you, do you?
6. GRANDMA WANTS JUSTICE SERVED TO ALL THOSE MINION RIP-OFFS OUT THERE
Grandma is VERY concerned about the legality of these minions. Not only is she not laughing at the meme, but she’s also worried about the fact that these minions are potentially not real minions. All we have to say is that Grandma needs to take a look around at any accessory store or novelty store if she’s so concerned with preserving the legality of the Minions. The characters are everywhere, and there have been a few different iterations of them.
While there are the iconic Despicable Me minions, there are also the minions that aren’t necessarily perfect examples of the ones from the movie. They’re a little more of the sketched variety, and they’re often a slightly different yellow tone than the originals. We know what you’re thinking: if Grandma is concerned about the legality of these minions, how does she feel about the poorly drawn Simpsons comics that are floating around out there. Or, what about all these generically-branded princess dresses that pop up every Halloween?
It seems like Grandma needs to get her priorities in order, as well as learning how to use Google.
She’s not going to get anywhere by typing comments. This woman needs to take action! Solid, Googling action. We’re sure that she figured it out eventually, and someone came along and deleted those mistaking comments.