There’s also a big problem when people believe children when they rant about their parents.
One of our daughters loved the attention she got when she told people how terrible we were. People who actually knew us and could have talked to us believed her.
Yes, this has happened to us. People who have been in our house and seen all the food and the doors that don’t have locks believed that Sally was being locked in her room and starved.
The internet is dreadful for teenagers, a negative feedback loop/echo chamber. The more horrific your sad story is, the more positive attention you get from your peers, so they all constantly exaggerate their incredible miseries, and then they all agree that they’ll act like they believe all of it, instead of using common sense.
/rant
This is the very first time that ANYone has come to me about what my daughter has said about me. Unfortunately, it has opened a can of worms that may have been better left alone.
He was curious enough to ask, so the least I can do is respond in truth.