Mom blogger faces backlash after post on son's lack of 'likes' on social media
A Georgia mom blogger is the target of harsh online criticism after an Instagram post in which she lamented her 6-year-old son's lack of "likes" on social media.
The since-deleted post was screenshot, tweeted and went viral.
Katie Bower, the blogger behind the BowerPower blog, celebrated her son's birthday on Instagram with the lovely sentiments one would expect a mom to have about her young son.
But then the post took a bizarre turn.
She wrote:
"Guys I am gonna be perfectly honest...Instagram never liked my Munchkin and it killed me inside. His photos never got as many likes. Never got comments. From a statistical point of view, he wasn’t as popular with everyone out there. Maybe part of that was the pictures just never hit the algorithm right. Part might be because he was “the baby” for a very short amount of time...And people like babies. I say all that because I want to believe that it wasn’t him...that it was on me. My insufficiency caused this statistical deficit because obviously my Munch should get ALL the love and squinty eyes are totally adorable."
Twitter was appalled.
Chrissy Teigen wrote, "Oh. My. God. What in the hell??"
Another user wrote "As a mom, who is hardly instafamous but finds some satisfaction in a certain degree of online approval, this compelled me to delete all the photos of my son off my Instagram. It’s irked me before for safety reasons, but this is probably more detrimental to us both."
"I am mystified and horrified at the level of self-involvement," wrote another.
Several users referenced an episode of Black Mirror. "Nosedive" which is set in a world where people "rate" each other on daily interactions and the rating is available for all to see.
Bower isn't the only mom who is worried about their kids' social media approval. Limor Weinstein, Founder and Executive Director of the LW Wellness Network, told "GMA" she has run into similar situations multiple times.
"Last week, one of our clients asked for a child psychologist to work with her daughter who is 'depressed' because she isn’t getting enough likes on Instagram," Weinstein told "GMA." "I was surprised to find out that the child was only 7 years old and obsessed with getting likes on Instagram. After speaking with the mom, it was clear that she was also obsessed with her 'likes' and spends hours making sure she gets them from people."
Bower did not respond to request for comment. She did address in her Instagram stories the reason for taking the post down.
“There were just too many gossip sites picking it up and twisting things making it seem evil to have any kind of struggle," she said. "They were attacking anyone who was showing support and I don’t want the drama.”
