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Woman Exposes ‘Instagram Perfect’ Mom After She Pays No Attention To Her Child At A Pool, Shows You Shouldn’t Believe Social Media
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Woman Exposes ‘Instagram Perfect’ Mom After She Pays No Attention To Her Child At A Pool, Shows You Shouldn’t Believe Social Media

Woman’s Post About Instagram Mom’s Behaviour She Witnessed At The Pool Goes ViralWoman Documents Instagram Mom's 'Pool Day' Tells Others Not To Be Let Down By 'Perfect' PicsWoman Exposes 'Instagram Perfect' Mom After She Pays No Attention To Her Child At A Pool, Shows You Shouldn't Believe Social MediaWoman Urges Moms Not To Fall For 'Instagram Perfect Moms' After Witnessing A Pool PhotoshootWoman Shows Why You Shouldn't Believe Social Media By Describing This 'Insta Perfect' Mom's Behavior At A PoolMom Writes Powerful Post After Witnessing This 'Instagram Perfect Mom' Barely Interact With Her DaughterSomeone Witnesses A Mom Staging The Perfect Photo Of Her And Her Kid Having Good Time By A Pool, Urges Moms To Be RealPerson Sees How A Mother Fakes A 'Happy' Photo With Her Daughter Then Continues Ignoring Her, Posts A Letter Asking People To Wake UpWoman Urges Moms Not To Fall For 'Instagram Perfect Moms' After Witnessing How These Photos Were TakenWoman Urges Moms Not To Fall For 'Instagram Perfect Moms' After Witnessing A Pool Photoshoot Where Mom Ignored Her Kid
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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.

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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.”

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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!”

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    Here’s what people had to say about the eye-opening story

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    Ilona Baliūnaitė

    Ilona Baliūnaitė

    Author, BoredPanda staff

    Read more »

    I'm a Visual Editor at Bored Panda since 2017. I've searched through a multitude of images to create over 2000 diverse posts on a wide range of topics. I love memes, funny, and cute stuff, but I'm also into social issues topics. Despite my background in communication, my heart belongs to visual media, especially photography. When I'm not at my desk, you're likely to find me in the streets with my camera, checking out cool exhibitions, watching a movie at the cinema or just chilling with a coffee in a cozy place

    Read less »
    Ilona Baliūnaitė

    Ilona Baliūnaitė

    Author, BoredPanda staff

    I'm a Visual Editor at Bored Panda since 2017. I've searched through a multitude of images to create over 2000 diverse posts on a wide range of topics. I love memes, funny, and cute stuff, but I'm also into social issues topics. Despite my background in communication, my heart belongs to visual media, especially photography. When I'm not at my desk, you're likely to find me in the streets with my camera, checking out cool exhibitions, watching a movie at the cinema or just chilling with a coffee in a cozy place

    James Caunt

    James Caunt

    Writer, Community member

    Read more »

    James is a Bored Panda reporter who graduated with a BA in Peace And Conflict Studies and an MA in African Affairs. Before Bored Panda, he was an English teacher and also travelled a lot, doing odd jobs from beer-slinging to brickie's labourer and freelance journalism along the way. James loves covering stories about social and environmental issues and prefers to highlight the positive things that unite us, rather than petty internet squabbles about fictional characters. James is the grumpy, contradictory one who thinks that Bored Panda, due to its large audience, has a social responsibility to inspire and inform its readers with interesting issues and entertaining, well-researched stories. Let's do our bit to make our little corner of the internet a smarter, more truthful and less angry place!

    Read less »

    James Caunt

    James Caunt

    Writer, Community member

    James is a Bored Panda reporter who graduated with a BA in Peace And Conflict Studies and an MA in African Affairs. Before Bored Panda, he was an English teacher and also travelled a lot, doing odd jobs from beer-slinging to brickie's labourer and freelance journalism along the way. James loves covering stories about social and environmental issues and prefers to highlight the positive things that unite us, rather than petty internet squabbles about fictional characters. James is the grumpy, contradictory one who thinks that Bored Panda, due to its large audience, has a social responsibility to inspire and inform its readers with interesting issues and entertaining, well-researched stories. Let's do our bit to make our little corner of the internet a smarter, more truthful and less angry place!

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    Random Panda
    Community Member
    5 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    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?

    Al Jones
    Community Member
    5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    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.

    Jamie Richard
    Community Member
    5 years ago

    This comment is hidden. Click here to view.

    She didn't say a single bad or negative thing about the mom at the pool.

    Load More Replies...
    What's In Your Head?
    Community Member
    5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    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).

    Load More Comments
    Random Panda
    Community Member
    5 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    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?

    Al Jones
    Community Member
    5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    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.

    Jamie Richard
    Community Member
    5 years ago

    This comment is hidden. Click here to view.

    She didn't say a single bad or negative thing about the mom at the pool.

    Load More Replies...
    What's In Your Head?
    Community Member
    5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    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).

    Load More Comments
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