Why do grown women post photos of social events?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DCUM seems to be full of miserable loner strivers. No friends, often estranged from your (flyover state Mid-West) families, and status insecure, so you get on here and anonymously project all of your issues.

To distill this thread, middle aged women seething with envy that their peers seems to be *gasp* gregarious, having fun, being social, spending time with their beautiful family, and sometimes, taking vacations. The audacity to photo dump their normal healthy lives on the rest of us! Clutching my pearls!

+million

[Anonymous]

I like seeing friends out enjoying themselves.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DCUM seems to be full of miserable loner strivers. No friends, often estranged from your (flyover state Mid-West) families, and status insecure, so you get on here and anonymously project all of your issues.

To distill this thread, middle aged women seething with envy that their peers seems to be *gasp* gregarious, having fun, being social, spending time with their beautiful family, and sometimes, taking vacations. The audacity to photo dump their normal healthy lives on the rest of us! Clutching my pearls!

I think you’re missing the point many are trying to express. It’s not really seething jealousy, it’s more pity that women in 2025 still think posting this stuff is indicative of a “normal healthy life.”

Having and doing all of those things is wonderful! But seeking constant public validation for those things seems sad.
Like, it still happened even if we don’t see pics. Keep at least some of your precious moments to yourself, because the companies that own these platforms do not have your best interest at heart.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is strange to me that so many posters think that social media posts are intended to provoke jealousy. I want my friends and family to have good things in their lives. Someone else's nice house, vacation, or dinner doesn't take anything away from me.

People who aren't happy in their own lives don't want other people to be happy either.

Do some people post on social media because they're trying to provoke jealously? Absolutely. I think anyone would be a fool to say that never happens. As with anything, sometimes people's motives aren't pure, but that doesn't mean everyone else who engages in that activity also has bad motives.

OP's question asked about grown women as if they're a monolith. They're not. Some people post because they're thirsty and need validation. Some people post for other reasons. Acting like there is one answer is silly. I don't post on social media and I feel like I can discern the posts done for bad reasons and posts done for good reasons. You can react accordingly, including scrolling on by or muting those people.

I agree with your second and third paragraphs but disagree with the statement that unhappy people don't want other people to be happy. I think that's really reductive and just not accurate.

Unhappy people want to be happy. Lonely people want to feel connected and feel like they belong. I think when people have these negative reactions to social media, it's due to the nature of social media, not some deep meanness in them that wants other people to be miserable. Usually when people feel sad or upset by social media posts, it's because they wish they had whatever it was for themselves, or they feel excluded from a group they'd really like to belong to. That's not a desire for others to be unhappy. That's them wanting to be happy.

I don't understand why so many in this thread want to vilify people who are lonely, feel left out, or lack social connections. Obviously they just want what others have, and for good reason. We don't have to be mean about it. I truly do not get the meanness.

It tracks that the folks who vilify people who are lonely etc, because they are the same ones who love to brag and prove to others they are superior (or long to be superior but are likely insecure themselves). Also, there are lots of studies out there that show that people who over brag on socials often have a lot of dark things going on behind the scenes. It’s actually very interesting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is strange to me that so many posters think that social media posts are intended to provoke jealousy. I want my friends and family to have good things in their lives. Someone else's nice house, vacation, or dinner doesn't take anything away from me.

People who aren't happy in their own lives don't want other people to be happy either.

Do some people post on social media because they're trying to provoke jealously? Absolutely. I think anyone would be a fool to say that never happens. As with anything, sometimes people's motives aren't pure, but that doesn't mean everyone else who engages in that activity also has bad motives.

OP's question asked about grown women as if they're a monolith. They're not. Some people post because they're thirsty and need validation. Some people post for other reasons. Acting like there is one answer is silly. I don't post on social media and I feel like I can discern the posts done for bad reasons and posts done for good reasons. You can react accordingly, including scrolling on by or muting those people.

I agree with your second and third paragraphs but disagree with the statement that unhappy people don't want other people to be happy. I think that's really reductive and just not accurate.

Unhappy people want to be happy. Lonely people want to feel connected and feel like they belong. I think when people have these negative reactions to social media, it's due to the nature of social media, not some deep meanness in them that wants other people to be miserable. Usually when people feel sad or upset by social media posts, it's because they wish they had whatever it was for themselves, or they feel excluded from a group they'd really like to belong to. That's not a desire for others to be unhappy. That's them wanting to be happy.

I don't understand why so many in this thread want to vilify people who are lonely, feel left out, or lack social connections. Obviously they just want what others have, and for good reason. We don't have to be mean about it. I truly do not get the meanness.

It tracks that the folks who vilify people who are lonely etc, because they are the same ones who love to brag and prove to others they are superior (or long to be superior but are likely insecure themselves). Also, there are lots of studies out there that show that people who over brag on socials often have a lot of dark things going on behind the scenes. It’s actually very interesting.

Citation?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DCUM seems to be full of miserable loner strivers. No friends, often estranged from your (flyover state Mid-West) families, and status insecure, so you get on here and anonymously project all of your issues.

To distill this thread, middle aged women seething with envy that their peers seems to be *gasp* gregarious, having fun, being social, spending time with their beautiful family, and sometimes, taking vacations. The audacity to photo dump their normal healthy lives on the rest of us! Clutching my pearls!

I think you’re missing the point many are trying to express. It’s not really seething jealousy, it’s more pity that women in 2025 still think posting this stuff is indicative of a “normal healthy life.”

Having and doing all of those things is wonderful! But seeking constant public validation for those things seems sad.
Like, it still happened even if we don’t see pics. Keep at least some of your precious moments to yourself, because the companies that own these platforms do not have your best interest at heart.

Back in the 2010s posting all the things was novel. Now it's tiresome to post a hoard of pics for every single social gathering.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DCUM seems to be full of miserable loner strivers. No friends, often estranged from your (flyover state Mid-West) families, and status insecure, so you get on here and anonymously project all of your issues.

To distill this thread, middle aged women seething with envy that their peers seems to be *gasp* gregarious, having fun, being social, spending time with their beautiful family, and sometimes, taking vacations. The audacity to photo dump their normal healthy lives on the rest of us! Clutching my pearls!

I think you’re missing the point many are trying to express. It’s not really seething jealousy, it’s more pity that women in 2025 still think posting this stuff is indicative of a “normal healthy life.”

Having and doing all of those things is wonderful! But seeking constant public validation for those things seems sad.
Like, it still happened even if we don’t see pics. Keep at least some of your precious moments to yourself, because the companies that own these platforms do not have your best interest at heart.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DCUM seems to be full of miserable loner strivers. No friends, often estranged from your (flyover state Mid-West) families, and status insecure, so you get on here and anonymously project all of your issues.

To distill this thread, middle aged women seething with envy that their peers seems to be *gasp* gregarious, having fun, being social, spending time with their beautiful family, and sometimes, taking vacations. The audacity to photo dump their normal healthy lives on the rest of us! Clutching my pearls!

I think you’re missing the point many are trying to express. It’s not really seething jealousy, it’s more pity that women in 2025 still think posting this stuff is indicative of a “normal healthy life.”

Having and doing all of those things is wonderful! But seeking constant public validation for those things seems sad.
Like, it still happened even if we don’t see pics. Keep at least some of your precious moments to yourself, because the companies that own these platforms do not have your best interest at heart.

see that's the thing, I don't see it as validation. My mom likes to see what I'm up to and it's easier for her to check fb because at over 80, she's an intermittent texter. Maybe because I'm old, but I like to see how old friends look now so I can see them as they age and not be surprised they don't look like I remember them in HS or college when seeing them in person again. And being in DC, where people tend to be more transient, I love seeing what old friends are up to since moving away. The more fun they are having, the better!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DCUM seems to be full of miserable loner strivers. No friends, often estranged from your (flyover state Mid-West) families, and status insecure, so you get on here and anonymously project all of your issues.

To distill this thread, middle aged women seething with envy that their peers seems to be *gasp* gregarious, having fun, being social, spending time with their beautiful family, and sometimes, taking vacations. The audacity to photo dump their normal healthy lives on the rest of us! Clutching my pearls!

I think you’re missing the point many are trying to express. It’s not really seething jealousy, it’s more pity that women in 2025 still think posting this stuff is indicative of a “normal healthy life.”

Having and doing all of those things is wonderful! But seeking constant public validation for those things seems sad.
Like, it still happened even if we don’t see pics. Keep at least some of your precious moments to yourself, because the companies that own these platforms do not have your best interest at heart.

NP. You’re the one missing the point of PP. Bolded is example of you projecting your issues onto others.