What to Do When Your Family Always Embarrasses You on Social Media
Oh, family—can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em.
And now, thanks to the wonders of new technology, your family's embarrassing antics aren't just limited to holidays and family reunions. Now they can humiliate you each and every day using the power of social media.
Whether it's posting completely unflattering pictures of you, commenting ridiculous things on every single one of your posts or trying to chat up your friends like they're old pals, we've all dealt with an embarrassing family member on social media. But how do you deal with this problem without insulting the offending relative?
Keep scrolling for our best tips on what to do when your family embarrasses you on social media.
Explain That Their Posting Reflects on You
How many times did our parents tell us growing up that we had to be careful about what we shared online? Granted, they were thinking more in terms of stranger danger, inappropriate posts and potentially life-altering content, but the same idea still applies to your family's posting. Try to explain to your embarrassing family member that each one of their posts about you or on your page still reflects on who you are as a person. If they're sharing unflattering photos or deeply private information, it can affect how the people in your circle see you, including friends, crushes and potential future employers. By talking about the impact their posting has on you, you can keep the focus on your needs and still get the message across without making them feel like you're attacking them or trying to start an argument.
(To All the Boys I've Loved Before via Netflix)
Bring Up Personal Privacy
Many times our family embarrasses us on social media by bringing up things that we would rather not share with the public. When you post on your own social media, you have total control over what people want to see, but when they start filling their page with their own posts about you they take away your online autonomy. Try to explain to your embarrassing family member that you want to have control over what is said about you online and that you'd rather that they not violate your personal privacy by oversharing about you using their accounts. It might be a slightly more contentious conversation, but hopefully they'll understand your right to privacy and respect your request.
Hide Your Posts
Sometimes the embarrassing family member is someone you're not that close to. It may be an aunt you only see occasionally or a cousin who you chat with intermittently. In these cases, calling the family member out on their behavior doesn't really seem like an option, so you have to get a little sneakier with your methods. One way to shield yourself from embarrassment is to simply hide your posts from this family member. If they can't see what you're doing, they can't find a way to embarrass you. It keeps your social media safe from their prying eyes, and they likely won't even notice that your posts aren't appearing on their timeline anymore.
(Riverdale via the CW)
Unfriend or Unfollow Them, Then Make Your Page Private
If you're truly desperate to hide your social media from embarrassing family, simply unfriend or unfollow them and make your profile private. Then, you can deny their request to follow you or just let it sit in your notifications until they forget about it. Chances are, they won't even realize you deleted them. You may be faced with a few angry people questioning why you won't let them follow you, but that might be worth it if it stops them from posting embarrassing content. Plus, when in doubt, blame the app for the "mysterious" removal.
Don't Put Your Name on the Photos
If you're dealing with a family member who posts embarrassing things of you, but you don't feel comfortable enough asking them to take it down, you can at least distance yourself from the embarrassment by removing your name from the posts. Untag yourself, don't allow the post on your timeline—anything you have to do to keep your name from being associated with it. It might not be the perfect solution, but it will it more difficult for the post to infiltrate your circle, which will hopefully limit the embarrassment to your family member's followers.
(Riverdale via The CW)
Report the Post
This is a last-ditch effort if you truly feel like a post is inappropriate and your family member refuses to take it down. Reporting the post to the social media "help" team and explaining that it was put up without your permission will usually allow them to take it down. However, it will also cause a rift between you and a family member, so only resort to this tactic if it's absolutely necessary.
Just Accept It
At the end of the day, family's family. If they happen to embarrass you on social media every now and then, it's not the worst thing in the world. Unless it's truly affecting your life and the way people view you, their embarrassing posts aren't really that big of a deal. Sometimes it's better to just accept that you can't control everything your family does and choose to live with their embarrassment, rather than allowing it to fester and complicate your relationships. A few embarrassing posts on social media aren't the end of the world, so make sure you think through just how life-changing this is before you turn it into a bigger deal than it needs to be.
Social media causes all kinds of problems, but we might have some solutions. Click HERE for how to feel better when a close friend leaves you out on social media.