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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
Lifestyle
Eleanor Gordon-Smith

My friend keeps sending me unsettling social media videos. How do I tell her to stop?

Two tiara-wearing women embrace as they read a letter
‘Maybe you need to communicate you find these videos a bit weird,’ Eleanor Gordon-Smith writes. Painting: The Sisters Zénaïde and Charlotte Bonaparte by Jacques-Louis David, 1821. Illustration: Heritage Image Partnership Ltd/Alamy

My friend of 30 years keeps sending me social media posts and videos that I either don’t find funny or are disturbing. We live far away and rarely see each other, so we communicate through a messaging app. I’ve told her many times that I prefer positive or cute things, and I don’t follow American politics.

Her life is difficult and I understand why she spends so much time on social media. Last week she sent me multiple videos each day that were not of interest to me at all, including one with women slapping each other. She often buys into conspiracy theories until I disprove them. All of it upsets me. It’s like she doesn’t know who I am. I’m not replying to any of these messages but she keeps sending them.

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