'Mum is crying now because of you': Family photo refusal causes major breakdown at family gathering

Brad Dickson • Managing Editor

Mar 30, 2023 6:00 PM EDT

Everyone knows that mother who is obsessed with getting everyone together for a family photo, insisting that they get that one perfect shot despite persistent refusals and general chaos amongst the group.

The thing is, these mothers, like other photo-obsessed people, are actually right about this. It's not something you appreciate until you're older and memories are beginning to fade… but there's a certain satisfaction in being able to glance at a photo and being suddenly flung back in time, as the old forgotten neurons fire and connect to others, new memories you didn't even know existed suddenly materialize in uncomfortably vivid ways—potent scents accompanying intense visual imagery. The old wooden walls of your grandparent's basement room where you played as a kid… The faint scent of cedar mixed with dust and an old shag carpet, which itself was surprisingly soft to the touch. You can even remember the specific way that sound would reverberate through the room with a comforting echo. And you're almost certain you would be able to grab that paddle sitting on the ping-pong table were you to reach your hand out towards it.

The thing is, that basement might not leave the recesses of your mind had your grandmother not insisted on snapping polaroids of you playing.

These days, there are parents and mommy influencers who take the benefits of this way too far, thrusting their phones into their child's face, ensuring that the little black rectangle is at the forefront of all their core memories.

Anyways, those are the things that came to my mind when I read this thread that was shared on Reddit's r/AmItheA**hole subreddit by u/thefancyelefante. The Original Poster (OP) was wondering whether they were in the wrong for refusing to take a photo with their partner's family. The commenters voted them to be the a-hole, after which the OP returned with an update.

Keep reading for screenshots below; for more family drama, check out this cousin who confronted her cousin over her nepo privilage.