My mom's [60s] obsession with my [25F] Instagram is pushing me away
I'm a crafty blogger/entrepreneur with a large Instagram following in my industry. I have a few licensing deals and my products are starting to get picked up by popular retailers in my field. :) Basically, the dream is starting to come true.
My husband and I have been living with my parents while he finishes up school and we save for a house. (We plan to move out next January.) My mom and I have an okay relationship. It would probably be a lot better if I didn't live with her. She LOVES having me around, but I'm super introverted and I need a lot of space/quiet. My husband and I actually started eating dinner very late in the evening because eating dinner with them every night (something my mom loves) was getting to be too much for me. When I don't get my space, I get stressed, prickly, and unpleasant, so I try to keep to myself as much as possible. My mom doesn't really understand this and laments that she "never sees me" even though we live in the same house. Basically, I feel like a cat that gets chased up a tree by an overly eager dog. The more she yaps and barks, the less likely I will come down. But if she were to walk away and chill, I'd probably come down and be willing to hang out.
That being said, she's latched onto my Instagram as a way to get more "connected" with me. She doesn't have an account, but she checks it religiously on her computer. She loves seeing what I make and post. I don't have a problem with her keeping up with my Instagram, but I feel like she's started using it as an easy replacement for a real relationship. For example, I'll post a photo of a new project during the day while she's working. When she gets home, I'll try to reach out and show her what I made, and she'll say "Oh, I already saw your post on that." After months of these kinds of interactions, I gave up trying to engage her in person.
I'm currently SUPER busy on a huge licensing deal so I'm working long hours, but am not yet able to post any of this work to Instagram. Now that she doesn't have a steady stream of pictures, she's back to yappy dog mode. She'll come hover over my shoulder with a huge grin while I'm trying to work (my "studio" is in the corner of the family game room), which I can't stand. I ask her to leave, and she will...only to do it again in an hour or two. Every time I ask her to leave she acts like a sad puppy. I tell her I'll show her my work when it's done but she goes, "Who knows when that'll be! I just want to see what you're up to. You need to post more on Instagram."
Furthermore, whenever we do have a face to face conversation, all she wants to talk about is how many followers I have on Instagram ("You got # new followers today!" / "It looks like you lost # followers. Why is that?"), and discuss comments people make on my posts. Meanwhile, I really don't want to talk about that stuff. I want have a conversation about something IN REAL LIFE. She reminds me of a teenager who doesn't understand that social media =/= reality. I usually end up frustrated and going back up the metaphorical tree with a bushy tail.
I want to have a better relationship with my mom but I feel like she's more interested in my IG than me as human being because it's easier for her. I'd really appreciate any advice, especially from moms with grown kids!
tl;dr: I'm a huge introvert and my mom is using my Instagram as a surrogate for a real relationship bc I'm easily overwhelmed by her.
Posted Feb 25, 2016, 12:27 AM UTC