Getting into awkward, embarrassing, and genuinely weird situations is a part of life. There’s no way that you can completely avoid making a fool of yourself—all you can do is know how to act when you do.

No matter how embarrassing things get, some of us can’t help but share what happened with our loved ones, hoping to make them laugh. After all, if sadness shared is halved and happiness shared is doubled, the same should be true for halving embarrassment and doubling laughter, right?

Twitter user Flyaway_k shared a series of hilarious messages between him and his son Zack. The son told his dad how he wore slacks to work and how they “exploded” from his body when he bent down. The poor people closest to him didn’t have the time to avert their eyes.

Bored Panda reached out to Flyaway_k to hear about the internet’s reaction to the story, as well as how best to deal with embarrassment. Scroll down for the full interview.

A father shared his son’s embarrassing work story on Twitter

Image credits: flyaway_k

Image credits: flyaway_k

Image credits: flyaway_k

Image credits: flyaway_k

“Having a sense of humor is the key to happiness”

The story went viral on Twitter, with over 4,800 likes and 670 retweets. The interesting thing is that Flyaway_k tagged his own son Zack’s Twitter account in the thread. This is unusual because most people want to keep their child anonymous if they share a story about them.

But it seems that this father-son team is a big fan of having a laugh. After all, Zack is a comedian, while Flyaway_k jokes in his Twitter bio that actor and comedian Tommy Chong once said he was funny.

“My initial reaction was to look away from the light and take in some oxygen. Then I got off the floor and told all my friends,” Flyaway_k told Bored Panda what his first reaction was when he saw his son’s messages. “Twitter’s reaction parroted my reaction, which sent me back into the phase 1 fight for my life. It’s living on the edge, but this is how we survive the perils of everyday life, by laughing our asses off. My son certainly seemed to grab ahold of this philosophy growing up. That’s why he’s [so funny].”

“I was a crazyish single dad for much of his childhood, so suffice it to say he’s seen some [crap] that would blow your hair back,” the father told us about how often similar situations arise in his family. “After all the things we’ve been through and seen together, we’re utterly unshakable at this point in embarrassing situations. If I know him, and I do, he went straight back in there with a sufficiently shielded [butthole] and made jokes about it the rest of the night. I haven’t heard any coworker stories yet, unfortunately, but maybe that’ll be a way to keep the story alive later.”

Flyaway_k explained that having a good sense of humor is very important in life. “Having a sense of humor, especially when it comes to stupid [crap] you do to yourself, is the key to happiness. I weep for those born without a funny bone. Joking, [eff] those people. If you can’t laugh at yourself, we’ll certainly do it for you! The world needs laughter right now more than ever before, and we’re just trying to contribute around here.”

Face embarrassment head-on, instead of running away from it

Psychology Today notes that back in 2012 John Jay College professor Joshua Clegg did a study about getting out of awkward situations. Or “problematic instances of social affiliation” as he calls them. According to the study, awkwardness leads to more awkwardness, so it’s important to defuse the tension ASAP.

The study states that there are two ways to deal with embarrassment. First of all, we can pretend that the situation never happened. Did I spill orange juice over my date? No, no I did not. There’s no such thing as orange juice. I don’t go on dates. Good day to you all.

Second of all, we can confront the awkwardness head-on. Which is a better strategy than ignoring reality because it resolves the situation and makes you look better than if you run away from the truth.

Professor Clegg confirms that the best way to get out of an embarrassing situation you’ve landed in is by using humor. If you’re able to laugh and make fun of yourself when you mess up, you show courage and you might even end up being admired. Heck, even saying “awkward!” is better than hiding in a corner and trembling.

Dear Pandas, have you been in any “problematic instances of social affiliation” (i.e. awkward situations) like Zack? How do you deal with public embarrassment? Share your thoughts with us below.

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Image credits: flyaway_k

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