Why Woman 'Had To' Block Own Mom on Social Media Has Internet in Stitches

Social media is where generational differences really shine—but one woman says her mom has gone too far.

A TikTok video posted by Jo Weddleton (@just.jo.things) went viral for her explanation of why she blocked her mom on Instagram: she was commenting bizarre things on all of her photos. The video has sparked conversation on generational divides within digital spaces, gaining over 107,000 likes and over 1,400 comments since it was posted only six days ago. Weddleton, 28, spoke to Newsweek about her mom's "embarrassing" habit.

"I had to block my mom on Instagram (and I'm about to block her on Facebook) and here is why," Weddleton said in the video. "I just uploaded all of our wedding photos to Facebook, and she was liking, commenting on every single one of them at 2:00 A.M. on Saturday...my mom's comments on social media need to end."

Weddleton goes on to show viewers a glimpse of her mother's Instagram behavior: A photo of her husband before a date night had her mother commenting, "Have to say, this could be my favorite of your hubby." Another photo of her husband looking out at the sea on their wedding day prompted her mom to comment, "Deep thought time."

On a photo of Weddleton in her wedding veil, one which Weddleton said should inspire a comment akin to, "Oh my gosh, my daughter's so beautiful," her mother simply commented, "Deep thought."

Weddleton said these examples are not the only ones, and that they get even more "cringey". Lack of social media literacy may be partly to blame. Weddleton said that when people post photos publicly on Facebook, her mom believes they have personally sent her the photo. Once, she posted a photo of herself at the beach and her mom commented asking why she had sent her the photo.

"I've explained that when you add someone on social media, their content will show on your feed to my mom many times and she insists people are sending them directly to her," Weddleton told Newsweek. "This has caused many arguments, especially when she assumes I see something she sees."

She said her mother's comments are usually funny, but sometimes uncomfortable: "One time, she commented on a photo of me with people I no longer talk to from the early 2000s telling me about her new lawn care company who comes over," she said. "It's extremely awkward because the people who were tagged in those photos received notifications and they're so far removed from my life."

Weddleton's mother hasn't noticed she is blocked from her daughter's Instagram.

"Some of her comments became concerning due to the content of them, so I blocked her after many attempts of trying to tell her to not comment such things," she said. "I was worried. Her comments are not a reflection of who I am as a person."

Despite her not noticing her lack of access to Weddleton's Instagram, she has seamlessly changed directions. "What's happened since?" Weddleton said. "Non-stop commenting on Facebook!"