There’s been a lot of debate about the relationship between teens and screens. Concerns about negative effects on mood, online bullying, inappropriate content, and cyberstalking all have parents fearing how much time adolescent kids spend stuck to their phones.

Well, one parent determined to keep her teen daughter from straying off the path of righteousness was in for a shock when she discovered risqué content on her phone. In the midst of scolding her, though, the teen’s grandma piped up to imply the mom was being a bit of a hypocrite.

More info: Reddit

When you’re a parent dishing out discipline, it’s probably best if you don’t have any skeletons in your closet

Image credits: Freepik / Freepik (not the actual photo)

One woman was shocked when she discovered her teen daughter surfing mildly explicit content on her phone

Image credits: Freepik / Freepik (not the actual photo)

In the midst of scolding her daughter, the teen’s grandma intervened, reminding the mom that she had done much worse in her younger years

Image credits: DC Studio / Freepik (not the actual photo)

Her quality quip turned the punishment on its head, leaving the mom embarrassed and everyone else trying—but failing—not to laugh

Image credits: [deleted]

The mom told her dad that he ruined the scolding, so he turned to netizens to ask if laughing at his daughter made him a jerk

OP begins his story by telling the community that he and his wife have a married daughter who has two kids—a 15-year-old, Violet, and a 10-year-old, Ben. He goes on to explain that his daughter and her family have been living with them for a while and that, because Violet is a teen, her parents are trying to keep her out of trouble. 

Early one morning, OP and his wife were eating breakfast when their daughter came into the kitchen clutching Violet’s phone, followed by Violet and their son-in-law. According to OP, Violet is a well-behaved teen, but her phone suggested something quite different.

Apparently, OP’s daughter found ASMR videos on Violet’s phone and played one for everyone in the kitchen to hear. OP says the content was, to put it mildly, inappropriate. Well, the mom started scolding Violet until OP’s wife piped up that she had no leg to stand on, considering her own errant behavior during her teen years.

OP says nobody could keep a straight face after his wife’s quip. His daughter was embarrassed, said this wasn’t about her, and told him to quit laughing because he was ruining the scolding—but by then, it was too late. OP concludes by asking the readers if he was a jerk for cracking up at the humorous situation.

If there’s one universal truth about family life, it’s that teens are often misunderstood by their parents. 

Whether it’s experimenting with edgy trends or sneaking out to meet their friends, every generation of teens has left their parents scratching their heads. But here’s the kicker: parents weren’t exactly angels in their youth either.

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Image credits: gpointstudio / Freepik (not the actual photo)

In his article for the BBC, Richard Fisher writes that one of the most culturally significant inventions of the past century has been the teenager. Fisher adds that it’s difficult to imagine that we ever existed without our adolescent years as we experience them now, but if you could time-travel back a few centuries, people would find the modern idea of the teenager to be a rather alien concept. 

After WWII, historians note that social attitudes regarding the rights of young people shifted in many Western countries. The idea that young people had a duty to serve their parents diminished, and their wishes and values began to be listened to more.

Psychologist Jean Twenge notes that teens are growing up much slower by many measures compared with their 20th-century counterparts. Your typical 17 to 18-year-old in the US today is now less likely to have had intercourse, tried alcohol, or gotten their driver’s license, compared with similarly aged teens just 20 years ago.

Social media use, Twenge explains, means that teens are spending less time with their friends. Simultaneously, online content is creating unrealistic expectations and more opportunities for feeling left out, which scientists now say has similar effects to physical pain.

Perhaps Violet’s mom should cut her some slack (surfing YouTube for some saucy ASMR is pretty tame) and think twice before throwing stones at a glass house, especially when grandma’s around to set the record straight. 

What would you have done if you’d found yourself in OP’s shoes? Do you think you could have kept a straight face? Was Violet’s mom too quick to confront her? Let us know your opinion in the comments!

In the comments, readers shared their own stories of their grandmas backing them up when they went against the grain of their parent’s wishes

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