Some say that whatever happens on the internet stays on the internet, arguably forever. But whether that’s true or not, it can surely stay there for at least a couple of years.

That’s how long ago this redditor posted a comment on Facebook, which related to the lifestyle of her daughter. The latter found the comment and got so mad, she said she might not show up for Christmas this year, while her mother said it was just a joke. Scroll down to find the full story below.

Before leaving a trace on social media, it’s important to consider the possible consequences

Image credits: Anna Shvets / pexels (not the actual photo)

This woman left a comment two years ago that came back to hurt the relationship with her daughter

Image credits: Anna Shvets / pexels (not the actual photo)

Image credits: Kaboompics .com / pexels (not the actual photo)

Image credits: FacebookUser1225

More than half of the population are social media users

Image credits:  Tracy Le Blanc / pexels (not the actual photo)

Whether it stays online forever or not, the digital footprint is something to take seriously, especially nowadays when so much of our daily life involves using the internet and social media. According to 2023 data, roughly 4.9 billion people are social media users; to put it into context, that’s roughly 60% of the entire global population. Needless to say, the number is only expected to grow, with estimations suggesting that it will reach 5.85 billion by 2027.

When it comes to the platforms that people are on the most, Facebook—the only social media the OP revealed using—seems to take the lead with as much as 3.03 billion active users. But it’s unlikely to be the only social media platform an individual chooses to spend their time on (an average of two hours and thirty-five minutes of it a day, if you’re wondering), as they reportedly interact with 6-7 different ones concurrently.

Facebook seems to be the most popular option among social media users

Nowadays, spending hours on social media is not only normal but, in a way, expected; learning that someone doesn’t use a single platform is likely to be followed by a gasp or a surprised look, at least. But that surely wasn’t the case just two-three decades ago.

Now basically synonymous with the term social media, Facebook, for instance, was started less than twenty years ago, in 2004. According to Our World In Data, it boomed from covering 1.5% of the entire population in 2008 to 30% in 2018. (What is even more mind-boggling is that the number of US adults who use any sort of social media has reportedly gone from 5% in 2005 to 79% in 2019.)

Despite being the most widely used, Facebook is not the first social media platform to have been created, though. The title is typically dedicated to Six Degrees, a platform founded back in 1997, which allowed its users to create a profile and make friends with other users.

Men reportedly leave more comments on Facebook than women

Image credits: Andrea Piacquadio / pexels (not the actual photo)

With so many people using Facebook every day, there ought to be someone to leave a comment or two (and it’s not always Xavier who does it). Statista revealed that the median number of monthly comments a user leaves on the platform ranges from 2 to 9, depending on the age and gender.

Men seem to comment on Facebook more than women; sometimes even twice or three times more, depending on the age group. The gap between genders is not as significant among the youngest ones—those 18 to 24 years of age—who seemingly leave 4 (the median for females) or 5 (for males) comments a month. Older males—25 to 44 years old—are twice as likely to comment on Facebook as their female counterparts, and men 45-54 or older than 65 do it three times more often.

But why do people leave comments, you might wonder? Well, the answer seems pretty straightforward—to say something that’s on their mind, as Buffer pointed out. By leaving a comment, people not only share their insight but arguably affect the algorithm, too, which then adjusts accordingly to provide more of what they might be more interested in.

Even though quite a few people leave comments on Facebook for one reason or another, they also quite often seem to change their minds about it, Buffer reports. A nearly three-week-long study of Facebook user activity found that roughly 70% of them have typed out at least one status update or comment they refrained from posting in the end.

It’s unclear if the OP would have done that, too, if she knew the consequences her comment would bring. Be that as it may, two years ago she decided to post what she considered a joke, but her daughter and quite a large part of fellow redditors didn’t find it to be that funny.

Bored Panda has reached out to the OP via Reddit and will update the article once we’ve heard back from her.

The OP provided more details in the comments

The majority considered the redditor a jerk in this situation

A few netizens sided with the mother

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