IT’S NOT uncommon for a parent and child to clash on certain points during a lifetime
While the case is usually about a child being scolded by their parents over something they’ve done wrong, occasionally the tables turn.
This is exactly what happened with Austin and his mum Shannon, who he claims is a social media bully.
And though they appear to have tried to resolve their issues amongst themselves, the pair ended up going on popular US TV show Dr. Phil to work it out.
In a short clip titled ‘Teen Says His Mom is a ‘Social Media Bully’, posted on the chat show’s YouTube channel, Austin could be seen dressed in a black top as he told viewers: “Before my mom had a social media account, she was a totally different person."
He continued: “I keep telling my mom that she’s a bully online, but she doesn’t care.”
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Meanwhile, in his mum’s section of the application, she explained: “I honestly can’t believe people are still doing that. Just stupid.”
The scene then changed to Shannon, who is a cosmetology and aesthetics teacher, getting ready in front of the mirror as she argued: “I’m not abusive and I’m not a bully.”
Speaking to the camera, she continued: “A bully, in my eyes, is somebody that comes to you starting drama where it doesn’t need to be there.
“If people think that I’m a bully, what they need to know is don’t come to me with your issue. Stay in your lane.”
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The pair were then seen sitting opposite one another with Dr. Phil, whose full name is Phil McGraw, 72, between them.
“Now we often see social media addiction with young adults, teens, children…” he started the show off saying.
I’m not abusive and I’m not a bully
Dressed in a dark suit with a matching tie, he went on to ponder what happens when adults find themselves in that very position.
“What happens when adults, including parents and spouses, fall victim to overusing TikTok?”
Introducing the mother-son duo, who smiled at each other in turn, Dr. Phil went on to share how Shannon is “one of the 54.5 million adults now using TikTok”.
Before exploring the issue between the two sitting next to him, the chat show host posed a question for the live audience.
He asked how many people had found themselves in an argument with someone on social media before further questioning what it was about.
One woman took the mic to explain how she had made a comment “by mistake”, which led to an argument.
“I asked her a question that came out as an assumption to her and when I apologised it just blew up. And I was just like, what just happened?” the woman explained.
She added that it was a “big fight”.
The microphone was then given to an older man in the audience, who shared how he got into a “very stupid” argument online.
“Argentina had won the World Cup, the soccer (football) World Cup. And a lot of people were bashing Argentina that it was fixed,” he said.
“I said no, I happened to play professional soccer many years ago and I said, no blah blah blah. And then I went, what the hell am I doing?
“Just being an idiot. Let them be…”
Joking, Dr. Phil replied: “Yeah, well if that was about sports, that’s ok… But let me ask you something, do you guys realise that you’re talking to people you don’t know?
“It could be a bot.”
Turning to Shannon, he then directly questioned: “Do you realise you could be talking to a computer?”
“Yes,” Shannon replied. “But that’s not the point.”
She continued: “Now that I’m on social media I see a lot of stupidity. And I’m like, you know what I’m not going to be that person to stay quiet now.
“If you’re going to come at me… If I’m going to build up a following and you’re going to come into my house and do that, you’re not going to get away with it.”
Replying, Dr. Phil said: “It doesn’t matter to you that it could be a computer?”
Shannon explained that it doesn’t because it “looks real when you put the comment up”, and agreed with Dr. Phil when he said she’s just as satisfied to “argue with a machine”.
Do you realise you could be talking to a computer?
“If it’s something that is there, that’s not true,” she continued. “Somebody is putting it there, whether it’s a bot or not people are seeing it. So people don’t know about bots, I do. But they don’t.”
Dr. Phil then asked Shannon if it’s possible she’s become “neurologically addicted to this app to the point where your pleasure centres have been hijacked to the point where this is an involuntary response on your part and you have to respond to get that high?”
Shannon appeared to agree with his assessment as she replied: “Actually, that sounds more aligned the border of what we’re doing because once you get sucked into so many people following you and building up such a… I would say fanbase, you want to please that fanbase as well.
“So now it becomes a normal acting, okay this is building me, this is happening…”
“Because, it seems to me like, you’re way overinvested in this to the point where you just told me, ‘I’ll argue with a machine’,” Dr. Phil said.
Referring to whether it’s a bot or a person behind a comment, Shannon replied: “We don’t know what’s behind that. It could be a social media account that’s just trolling and trying to make you made and stuff like that.
“But you know what, it irks me to see it on my side of the page, looking, insulting me. I’m like oh heck no. Here you go!”
In the caption of the video, Dr. Phil explained: “Austin says his mother, Shannon, is constantly on TikTok, posting videos some claim constitute bullying behavior.” [sic]
He added that Shannon lost her best friend, Anya, due to her behaviour on social media.
Viewers were quick to comment on the video as many could see Dr. Phil’s point.
“As a former “social media addict”, I agree with Dr. Phil. Been over it for quite a few years now. “Mom” needs to grow up, grow a pair, and ignore the BOTS.” one person said.
She seeks it out and then she says that she’s defending herself
Another urged: “Mom needs to delete tik tok!!” [sic] as a third shared: “Another person who has spent their life comfortably being able to avoid the consequences of their behavior.”
But others could see her side of the story as one said: “She’s right!”
On Shannon’s own TikTok account, where she’s known as @sassyshannon0271, she shared another clip from her Dr. Phil interview.
In this, Austin told the chat show host that his mum’s behaviour “bothers him”.
“I say she bullies people online. She goes through the comments and looks for comments of people saying mean stuff there and just makes comments back to them,” he explained.
“She seeks it out and then she says that she’s defending herself,” he added. “All day long, 40-50 videos a day…”
But Shannon argues that it was more like three to four videos a day.
She went on: “I don’t go around TikTok trying to find a fight. They come to my page. I don’t surf liberal TikTok, they come to conservative TikTok and they have something to say, except they’re bullies. So I’m like, I’m going to take that bully and let them know what it feels like to bully at that point.”
Under this video, people were firmly on her side as one person wrote: “Watched it. You held your own and didn't back down.”
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Another said: “Ugh Hollywood!! I hate when people like us are awake and see what’s happening to our country is wrong .. your passion is mistaken for aggression”. [sic]
While a third said: “Excellent I think you were terrific”.
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