Regular but NCed. First time I have posted here and will probably have to leave the thread in tears if people are really mean, but am really baffled by this situation. Changed a few details.
Will try not to dripfeed, so this may be long. I am part of a group of six friends, all around the same age and roughly in the same financial circumstances. We are all scattered across the UK and a couple overseas as well, so we keep in touch by WhatsApp. The group is busy- or it used to be- and we post a few times a week. Nothing heavy, just fun stuff like TV shows we are watching, trips we are taking or books we are reading, but also a few updates about our families: DD got into X uni, DH got a new job and so on...
Anyway, last year was quite a tough one for me with some health issues in the family and DH in a stressful job/study thing. In December, I posted something like " Gosh, what a year. I am dying for a cheap sun and sand holiday in X or Y place, but we can't go away this year as DH is studying and needs to finish his course". That was it. Suddenly the "mood" in the WhatsApp group turned very strange. One friend said holidays in X or Y are no longer cheap what with inflation and CoL, another friend overseas began to argue that things are much worse where she is, with a takeaway costing ££££.. You know how tone is lost on WhatsApp groups and also how posts fly back and forth. Before I knew it, the general mood of the group changed to " Well, it's all right for you, isn't it, but some of us can't afford a decent holiday any more." Two of the posters were very loud about how tough things were for them, the rest were ok but didn't stick up for me.
I didn't know what to say, so I just kept mum and said something like " Yes, things are so expensive now everywhere across the world." But I felt completely attacked in what I thought was a safe space. Since then, I have barely posted in the group, except to answer questions. I did go away on holiday in February, but kept it quiet ( in the past I might have shared pix). I didn't want anyone to feel bad.
Recently the most aggressive friend who complained most about not being able to afford a holiday has gone on a very luxurious holiday in a far away destination and posted lots of updates. So has another friend. Everybody has said "Wonderful" and asked for details ( as any normal person would).
I feel hurt by the different standards but maybe I am missing something. I should also say that when I went quiet, so did everybody more or less, and the group is quite quiet now. Posts maybe once in ten days. I miss the old group but the atmosphere has changed for me.