Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:It's jealousy[b]. I feel it, too. But here's the thing. If someone posts a proud announcement about their kid going to some 80%+ acceptance rate school, I don't feel scornful. It's only the ones posting about the elite schools that make me annoyed. So I recognize that about myself. I grit my teeth and comment "Wow wow wow! How proud are you! Congratulations to the whole family!" And then I silence further notifications about the post.

DP. It may be for you but for many it is not that.

What is it, then? I think you're in denial.

Honestly, it's annoying.

There's a reason it's annoying to you. It's not annoying to everyone. Dig deep. What is that reason?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's jealousy[b]. I feel it, too. But here's the thing. If someone posts a proud announcement about their kid going to some 80%+ acceptance rate school, I don't feel scornful. It's only the ones posting about the elite schools that make me annoyed. So I recognize that about myself. I grit my teeth and comment "Wow wow wow! How proud are you! Congratulations to the whole family!" And then I silence further notifications about the post.

DP. It may be for you but for many it is not that.

What is it, then? I think you're in denial.

Honestly, it's annoying.

Anonymous wrote:I have a kid in the mix this year too, and I know we all care as parents but I don’t need blow by blow updates/brags.

Post it on social media if you must, tell grandma, but you don’t need to text every friend with a ‘big announcement’ that Larla is going to X school.

Flame away

Anonymous wrote:Is it still popular to do stickers on cars? I moved away from DC to a different part of the country where no one does that, but I liked the car stickers.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's jealousy[b]. I feel it, too. But here's the thing. If someone posts a proud announcement about their kid going to some 80%+ acceptance rate school, I don't feel scornful. It's only the ones posting about the elite schools that make me annoyed. So I recognize that about myself. I grit my teeth and comment "Wow wow wow! How proud are you! Congratulations to the whole family!" And then I silence further notifications about the post.

DP. It may be for you but for many it is not that.

What is it, then? I think you're in denial.

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Anonymous wrote:I love seeing them. This is so weird. I have two in college about to graduate and I still love seeing where kids land.

Why? Why do you care? Why do you think it matters at all? Especially if it's not your kid? I'm genuinely curious.

This is pretty sad. How can the idea of pleasure over your friends achievements be such a foreign concept?

DP.
Here’s the thing. Pleasure is great but you’re being dishonest if you don’t admit that there’s a huge element of narcissistic bragging at play for many parents, and I think that’s what irks some of us. As example, my friends son struggled in high school and when he got into college, I was overjoyed for him. Same with another friend’s dc who worked his butt off in high school, juggling academics and sports, and was recruited at a D1. Same for a friends son who got into Yale who she worried about socially as a kid. These are otherwise humble families. But in contrast, I know some people who have really taken to SM to brag about vacations, other ‘cool’ things they’re doing, their parties, their husbands love letter to them, their new pricey car, etc and yes, those people irk me. I stopped following them on SM ages ago, but those are the same ones who make announcements in other ways to ensure no one missed their latest brag.

Ok, for real, you are exactly the type of poster I am curious to get an answer from. I'm trying not to judge but I honestly can't understand why so many people have this view, and yet are on social media. Most of social media seems to be about sharing the (mostly good) things in your life. If posts about vacations, parties, new cars, college acceptances etc. all bother you as "narcissistic bragging," then what exactly do you like to see on your social media feed from your friends and acquaintances? Is it only acceptable to share about your struggles, and if you have enough struggles, then it is okay to share good news now and then?

I’m not on social media much. But when I am, I like people who are funny and thoughtful, and yes, there can be updates but they feel more organic and normal. Some good, some ok/bad. In contrast, there are some people who just seem like attention whores, who want everyone to know how cool/special/fun they are, and social media has brought out the worst in them. They’re the ones who I typically stopped following ages ago, but some of them want to make sure I know blah blah so will find other ways to blast their news. I suspect they’re the insecure ones, but who knows? Also, as someone said above, they’re not my friends and maybe that’s true. If I only hear from you when you want to brag about something, yes, I guess that doesn’t feel like a friendship.

Well, that is interesting. I am an introvert who seldom posts anything, but when I do, it is usually to share something I am either really proud of or really excited about, such as a vacation, or when I am especially proud of my kid. And I now realize that this probably annoys a lot of people on my feed, but I don't feel witty enough to share mundane news in any entertaining way. Nor do I feel comfortable sharing our family struggles. So I am way more likely to blast that my kid won the county spelling bee than when my kid almost died of illness in preschool. I share vacation pics because I love traveling and I also love to see where other people go for ideas. I like seeing where friends' kids land for college and am happy for them. If this kind of stuff is off limits, I guess I would social media a bit dry, and I do like social media because it lets me feel somewhat connected to former school friends, neighbors, etc. that I don't keep in touch with much otherwise but am still interested in.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I love seeing them. This is so weird. I have two in college about to graduate and I still love seeing where kids land.

Why? Why do you care? Why do you think it matters at all? Especially if it's not your kid? I'm genuinely curious.

This is pretty sad. How can the idea of pleasure over your friends achievements be such a foreign concept?

DP.
Here’s the thing. Pleasure is great but you’re being dishonest if you don’t admit that there’s a huge element of narcissistic bragging at play for many parents, and I think that’s what irks some of us. As example, my friends son struggled in high school and when he got into college, I was overjoyed for him. Same with another friend’s dc who worked his butt off in high school, juggling academics and sports, and was recruited at a D1. Same for a friends son who got into Yale who she worried about socially as a kid. These are otherwise humble families. But in contrast, I know some people who have really taken to SM to brag about vacations, other ‘cool’ things they’re doing, their parties, their husbands love letter to them, their new pricey car, etc and yes, those people irk me. I stopped following them on SM ages ago, but those are the same ones who make announcements in other ways to ensure no one missed their latest brag.

Ok, for real, you are exactly the type of poster I am curious to get an answer from. I'm trying not to judge but I honestly can't understand why so many people have this view, and yet are on social media. Most of social media seems to be about sharing the (mostly good) things in your life. If posts about vacations, parties, new cars, college acceptances etc. all bother you as "narcissistic bragging," then what exactly do you like to see on your social media feed from your friends and acquaintances? Is it only acceptable to share about your struggles, and if you have enough struggles, then it is okay to share good news now and then?

I’m not on social media much. But when I am, I like people who are funny and thoughtful, and yes, there can be updates but they feel more organic and normal. Some good, some ok/bad. In contrast, there are some people who just seem like attention whores, who want everyone to know how cool/special/fun they are, and social media has brought out the worst in them. They’re the ones who I typically stopped following ages ago, but some of them want to make sure I know blah blah so will find other ways to blast their news. I suspect they’re the insecure ones, but who knows? Also, as someone said above, they’re not my friends and maybe that’s true. If I only hear from you when you want to brag about something, yes, I guess that doesn’t feel like a friendship.

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Anonymous wrote:I like following DC's school Instagram announcement page because I like to see where kids land, but I do not want constant updates from friends about their kids' application statuses, and I definitely do not want to know about scholarships, etc. Last year, we got actual printed college announcements with professional photos of the kids--essentially SM on crack. A big no thanks on the printed announcements aka brag bomb.

Again, it's the company you have chosen to keep. Let me guess: private school?

The printed announcements (coming from 3 separate families) were all from public school families.

No, they weren't. And there weren't 3. And I was right that your kids are in private school.

I'm very sorry that my experience does not fit the narrative you are trying to sell. The three families from whom we received printed college/graduation announcements were in fact from public school parents. Two attend BCC, the other one is at WW. I was not trying to make it into a private vs public school thing.

But your kids attend private school, right? Yes or no. It's a basic question.

They do not. Again, sorry.

Uh huh. That's why you took so long to answer. Right.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is it still popular to do stickers on cars? I moved away from DC to a different part of the country where no one does that, but I liked the car stickers.

Magnets. Car magnets. Stickers cause damage. lol

But DC has a ton of stickers.

Maine has Subarus covered in a million stickers …not just college ones.