Mom Angry After Son Refuses To Install App To Track Him Sparks Fury

It may be known as a den of toxicity, but sometimes, the internet provides some truly terrific insults. From telling your overbearing mother-in-law to "get her hearing checked," to informing a catcaller that he's "the ugliest thing you've ever seen," there are moments when the punishment fits the crime.

Then, there are times when an insult just makes no sense whatsoever. One mom's rude comment to her adult child probably didn't have the impact she hoped it would, with 18,000 Reddit users upvoting the jibe for its ridiculousness.

User B1narypwny shared a screenshot of the bizarre conversation with their mom to r/insaneparents on Monday, along with the caption: "I'm a turkey because I don't want to download an app so my mom can track me."

In the message thread, B1narypwny tells their mom: "I'm not downloading an app so you can track me 24/7, I'm 27 not 12."

To which the mom replies: "I am not trying to track you, I am just putting your name on my list.

"Don't get your feathers ruffled.

"Ok turkey. RELAX!!!!!!!"

On the forum's rating system, fellow Redditors declared the messages to be "insane," but hilarious.

"I can't help but laugh at being called a turkey by your own mother," Anubis-Hound said.

"My mom tried to get me to sign up for the same thing, haha. I refused as well, but I was not called a turkey though!" wrote Muhuahahaha.

While Chotd commented: "'Ok Turkey' I'm f***** dead."

Many users couldn't get past the irony of the woman telling her child to relax, while clearly not being relaxed herself.

Sunkist-sucker commented: "'relax,' she says in all caps with seven exclamation points."

SamGoesArf said: "Should tell her to not get her own feathers ruffled. Teehee."

While Procrastin8te added: "Ironically these are probably the same type of parents who are worried that the government is tracking them lol."

There have been many studies on the impact of controlling or boundary-stomping moms and dads, engaging in what is known as "helicopter parenting." A 2020 study found that helicopter parenting relates to perfectionism and the belief that a child's behavior or life choices are an extension of their own. Anxious parents can also be prone to helicoptering, sometimes overprotecting their children and preventing them from becoming independent adults.

A paper published in 2019 suggested that children raised by helicopter parents were more likely to experience educational burnout, as well as struggle to transition from school to adulthood. While recent research has found a link between the adult children of helicopter parents and anxiety and depression, along with issues such as low self-efficacy and difficulty in connecting with others.

In recent years, extreme helicopter parents have been given a new nickname—"Lawnmower parents." This type of parent "mows down" any challenge their child might face, even sometimes willing to break laws or hurt others in the process.

Some users shared their own controlling parent stories.

Uyulala88 said: "My mom and I had a huge argument because I wouldn't let her track my phone. I'm 34."

JazzlikeHovercraft75 wrote: "My parents used to threaten to take away my phone if I didn't get that stupid app, eventually I got it and turned off location permissions."

Newsweek has reached out to u/B1narypwny for comment.