These mommy bloggers need a time-out.
In what’s now a disturbing trend, some mothers on social media are using their children’s misfortune as a way to troll for attention. No longer content to post perfectly posed family shots, these women are broadcasting setbacks on behalf of their kids to fish for pity-likes.
First there was Sil Mazzini, aka Pizza Party Mom, who took a traumatic event in her 6-year-old’s life and spun it into a media op. When none of the 32 invited guests showed up to her son’s birthday bash, she snapped a photo of the puppy-eyed tot sitting alone at a long, empty table set for celebrating.
She didn’t save it for the family archives, as a memento for her son, Teddy, to laugh at once he’s old enough for the sting to wear off. No — she posted it on Facebook, where it went viral.
Then, on Monday, a Georgia-based lifestyle blogger took her own shameless bid for attention one step further.
Instagrammer Katie Bower, a mother of five, wrote up a seemingly innocuous birthday post for her son, Weston, which contained a dark and utterly self-serving message. Her 6-year-old — whose “squinty eyes are totally adorable” — nevertheless consistently received the fewest “likes” of her brood, she confessed.
In a now deleted post, Bower begged her 52,000 followers to show Weston some love, lest his “statistical deficit” tank his self-esteem down the line.
What the motherloving crap?
Nevermind a parent’s responsibility to protect — and therefore, not publicly humiliate — her children. Bower’s post is particularly mind-boggling because it describes a so-called problem of her own making.
When it comes to Pizza Party Mom, poor Teddy supposedly got the last laugh in the form of coveted basketball tickets and other gifts from around the world. And even though Mazzini later said that she regretted sharing the sad birthday party snap, it’s hard not to consider the ways that she and her husband also benefited, in the form of freebies and media appearances, from the overwhelming global response.
No matter the intentions, these kids come off like mini meal tickets.
It’s been established that using social media basically gets you high; as parents, we all feel a rush of pride when a cute photo of our kid gets lots of love. But these moms are taking things altogether too far, using their tots as props in an endless battle to beat, and profit from, the algorithm.
It’s too reminiscent of stage moms, who also have a financial stake in their children’s cuteness. Hearing all the sad stories from former child stars — hi, Corey Feldman — haven’t we learned our lesson?
Years from now, how will the Honey Boo Boo’s of Instagram feel about their social media stardom?
Let’s hope these ladies are putting money aside for the future therapy bills.
