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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

What's the biggest lie/distortion you have seen someone post on social media?

245 replies

grumpelgoatskin · 19/12/2019 12:36

A friend posts regularly on Facebook about her very happy marriage and her wonderful husband.

In reality she cannot stand him and is looking for a way out.

I have no idea why she feels the need to post these lovey posts when she could just post nothing.

OP posts:
tillytoodles1 · 19/12/2019 18:39

I have a friend who posts heavily filtered photos of herself looking all wide eyed and glowing, but in reality she's chubby and has quite small eyes. I hope she never goes missing as no-one will know what she really looks like.

furrymulesandPJs · 19/12/2019 18:43

I do not think any of my friends on social media have ever lied in their posts about their own lives. I do find some of them can be eaily taken in by certain political views that have been distorted and then they post those things from political pages they follow. I am so bored of that stuff, so I scroll on.

beautifulstranger101 · 19/12/2019 18:47

This is really sad, but I know a woman who had to go to a womans shelter because her brand new husband hit her during an argument. Whilst out of the marital home she was posting photos of her lavish, fancy wedding and everyone was oohing and ahhing about how beautiful and expensive it was. I mean, I get it. She probably felt awful/ embarrassed, ashamed, scared etc. It all went quiet for a while and they are back together now posting lots of loved up photos together. It sends a shiver down my spine every time I see one of those photos because I keep thinking, its gonna happen again.

Snowmonster · 19/12/2019 18:48

An old friend who shares adorable love shit about her husband, anniversary, re newing their vows and how much of a wonderful guy he's always been. He is a cheating fuckwit and has had a string of affairs over the years.

HowlsMovingBungalow · 19/12/2019 18:58

Laughing at the filter woman going missing and no-one knowing what she really looks like!! Grin

StrongerThanIThought76 · 19/12/2019 19:05

Fb friend of a friend - posted dozens of #blessed #makingmemories #familyfirst pics last summer at an event. The reality was her 'hubster' got so drunk he ended up pissing himself and they were forced to leave before the police were called. Disgusting as they were with their #kids all afternoon

Evilmorty · 19/12/2019 19:16

One man I know posts amazing pictures of himself on film sets or outside the savoy. “Here again!” type stuff. He’s a cab driver picking people up outside...

Skyejuly · 19/12/2019 19:19

Deleted fb 3 yes ago and never looked back!

ColourMeExhausted · 19/12/2019 20:14

The MLM lot. It's quite sickening how many lies they post when the reality is very different. It sucked a friend of mine in and she regrets it and lost money. They are told to post bullshit aspirational stuff on there and boast about their so called earnings to lure others in. No qualms about lying outright.

Mother of Daughters - yeah that was an interesting one @tinytoast. She seemed to have everything and has really placed it all in jeopardy (for those not in the know, MOD is a successful IG influencer along with her DH, Father of Daughters. She was busted a few months ago for creating a fake profile on a site called Tattle Life as she'd heard she was being criticised on there and said she wanted to try and change people's minds about her. It backfired as she got sucked into it and ended up slagging off her DH and other influencers. Got very nasty and she appears to have gone into hiding. Think it really is a good illustration of the smoke and mirrors game social media really is...)

Freesunglasses · 19/12/2019 20:37

A woman I know who is always out with this 'mad bunch' she's also 'mad' pulling faces, smiling, saying how bubbly she is. I was in her company last weekend, the light was on but there was noone home.

MentalHealth101 · 19/12/2019 20:52

Not social media, but a couple were known for decades for being the icon of romance be because whenever they came to get togethers they were holding hands and being overly affectionate. Think celebrities. So many people in the community looked up to them for decades and to the point they used to offer relationship advice and people took their word for it. It’s dumb but there was such a hype about them being the match made in heaven and being the prime example of how to be a caring husband and a loving wife.

I had the misfortune of having to live with them for few months due to work arrangements.

Suffice to say, I have NEVER actually seen a couple so hateful of each other I was shocked beyond words and almost traumatised. The husband was bullied into acting affectionate in public and they’re together due to weird financial commitments but they struggle so badly to live together that their lifestyle is built around avoiding each other and the only time they spend quality time is when there is people around them.

Their kids had the most horrid upbringing as public image was protected to an extreme point at their expense..

And frankly they told me point blank “there is no such thing as true love? We don’t love each other”. Because I’m in a position where whatever I say won’t be believed.

Now I still see people gush over them and their relationship and go to them for inspiration and dying with jealous over how he speaks so highly of her in public and I feel nauseated..

I will never form an opinion of a person unless I’ve lived with them.

ShinyNewNameTimeAgain · 19/12/2019 21:13

mentalhealth please tell us who they are or give us a clue. I can’t think of any long term celebrity couples that appear romantic.

yellowpolkadots101 · 19/12/2019 21:23

DB and VB maybe?!

TheDarkPassenger · 19/12/2019 21:56

Same as everyone, my friend who posts how amazingly well behaved her kid is, sleeps so brilliantly blah blah in real life she gets up loads in the night and sends her mother mad back chatting. My friend who is madly in love with the man who she actually has an injunction against for domestic abuse and stalking and how amazing he is, knocks me white I’ve had to hide her as I supported her through the trial and stuff.

Nowayhozay1 · 19/12/2019 22:04

One woman on my sm gloats on about her children and always posting photos of “my boys” you would think she was the perfect mother. Reality is she can’t cope at all and whenever it gets too much she leave them with the dad and goes out and gets pissed every Friday and Saturday and makes her dp get the children out of bed to go and pick her up at 3 in the morning.
Crazy people!

IamPickleRick · 19/12/2019 22:13

Freesunglasses that’s so funny, I know a group like that and they look like such a laugh on FB. Whenever I’ve seen them out or years ago been out with them myself, they just get massively drunk and stare at each other. They don’t talk or laugh much at all. I realise now that on FB they only post pics and don’t comment much because they aren’t really very funny.

Timeless19 · 19/12/2019 22:17

Ahh I’m guilty I only post photos of my smiling baby. In reality she has a seriously grumpy face about 90% of the time and I have to take about 50 photos whilst singing “wind the fricking bobbin up” for the 20th time just to get that one photo where she has both eyes open, is looking in the right direction and has the vague resemblance of a smile on her face!

I don’t know how insta families do it I couldn’t be arsed!

ThatssomebadhatHarry · 19/12/2019 22:18

I saw a girl of Facebook on a breastfeeding in public bashing post comment that “I breastfeed both my children but did it privacy”

She has no children. No partner (her I’m happy being single for the last 8 years dominate her newsfeed.

Some people forget that when you post on a public group in comes up in your friends newsfeed. The loon.

pinkstripeycat · 19/12/2019 22:18

I know an Instagram poster who goes on on about how money and material things are not important and you should teach your children that and yet she spends her life showing off all the things she’s bought and days out she’s been in. She looks down as me for buying my kids those from asda

TravellingSpoon · 19/12/2019 22:24

I have a friend who tags herself in at our gym at every opportunity, with hashtags like #gymbitch #session #workinghard #girlawholift

In reality she goes into the sauna and then the juice bar. All she is lifting is a fresh OJ. Each to their own, but why bulllshit? I have asked her before if she fancies going together and she always declines.

WotchaTalkinBoutWillis · 19/12/2019 22:25

Yeah I know loads of ex school bullies who post about loads about anti bullying. It’s like they have a mental block over who they were between the ages of 11-18

Oh Gawd, I'd hate that - I don't think I'd be able to stop myself and would just have to post a passive aggressive Hmm or a ?
Grin
Although how would you see what your school bully was putting out there anyway?
I sure as shit ain't adding mine so wouldn't know what their posts say!

I have noticed quite a few of the really bad bullies are now in caring roles though (through FB add as friends suggestions seeing as I'm friends with the actual nice people from school) - what's that all about?!

I do tend to find the people who plaster their relationship over FB are the ones who have regular trouble...

  • they'll be all how much they love their partner and the next week they break up and call them utter wankers and how they can't even be arsed with the kids.... then a few days/a week later the status gets deleted and they're all lovey dovey again and you have to pretend you haven;t seen anything different. Confused Then they break up again, repeat ad infinitum lol Don't always believe everything you read on social media...
IamPickleRick · 19/12/2019 22:43

WotchaTalkinBoutWillis I haven’t added her or any of her mates. The worst girl in our year runs a salon locally, it’s very successful and she has a social media account that goes with it, and it’s often mentioned in local groups etc. I haven’t added her on anything at all, I’d rather shave my own head than go in her shop, but often I see when people like the posts or share it. It’s quite annoying tbh I wish I knew how to block all mention of that arsehole.

furrymulesandPJs · 19/12/2019 22:49

WotchaTalkingAbout Hmmm....bullies being in caring roles. Guess it depends if they changed or not? I think some kids who bully stay that way and some change- would depend. I am not going to excuse bullying at all but I think there those who bully due to thinks they going through at the time (not an excuse but a reason) and they may grow up, get a bit of healthy self reflection or therapy and then try to be completely different people. But I accept there may well be others who just don't realise the impact of what they did.

I do think there are two main types of bullying. There are the bully victims or hangers on. The bully victims may be acting out some harm done to them and the hangers on may be afraid of being bullied if they don't join in with the bullying (eg pack mentality). Then there are the other kind- the deliberate Mean Girl or Boy Types. They think they better than other people (either they really do or it a narcissistic defence mechanism agaisnt self hate) and they have little real empathy fro their victims. I would say that many of the first group may well change over time or with help.

ActualHornist · 19/12/2019 22:51

@GhostsInSnow

She has 2 children. Every day she posts photos of them, quite normal, yes? Well no, because they are time hop photos from years ago. She never posts any new photos, just lots of old ones

This could be me. They're older now and I'd rather only post with their permission - cute baby/toddler pics are different.

ActualHornist · 19/12/2019 22:54

I do use Insta and Facebook but I only have people I actually know, and tbh I've unfollowed so many of them I rarely see anything entertaining!

Aside from my cousin who turned 39 this year - she filters the pictures of her and her partner so much she looks like a grown up newborn. Very jarring when she posts one of her pics and then her friends tag her into a normal one!