Troubled Teen Turns Down An iPhone 12 His Parents Got Him For Christmas, And Now He Asks The Internet If That’s Okay
Christmas is time for family to get together, share laughs, enjoy each other’s company, and – exchange gifts! Yes, Christmas is the best.
Except when it is not. It’s so heartbreaking to see that so many people don’t enjoy Christmas because it causes them anxiety and depression.
Unfortunately, that’s very common with people who don’t have families or are separated from them. And they are usually adults.
But how could teens who have their family around hate Christmas? Especially when they buy an expensive gift like iPhone?
One Reddit user shared his experience, and it is heartbreaking. His parents got them a gift, but he didn’t like it.
OP is a non-binary person and a bisexual. This teen is young, scared, and confused, still searching for himself, and the parents are not making it any easier for him.
They got him an iPhone for Christmas, but it came spiked with parental control apps. This was unacceptable for a teen who enjoys his privacy very much.
So, he refused this gift because there were too many strings attached. This, of course, made his parents furious.
So now he asks the Reddit community to help him figure things out. And his problems turned out to be much bigger than an iPhone.
OP asks:
This teen got an iPhone for Christmas, and even though many teens would love to get such a gift, OP didn’t.
Parents don't trust OP, so they've spiked it with all kinds of control apps. OP refused the "gift."
Most of the young Redditors agree that it is a leash in disguise.
And some of them were a bit extreme
Many of us do...
Gifts go without strings...
Not a gift, it is a tracking chip
OP listed the tracking apps installed
Parents are still pushing OP
Some parents shared their point of view
People were wondering if OP was abused emotionally
And maybe this was just a game of give and take
OP clarified some things. And it is not easy to read...
OP is considering some extreme actions
One Redditor found OP’s posts in different subreddits
And OP seems like a really confused teen
How can we tell if the parents are overbearing or simply worried?
Redditor also advised OP to be brave
One parent explained their point of view:
And if you look at things from that perspective...
It is clear that this teen has many problems, some of which are drug abuse and depression. And, in a way, it is easy to understand the parents.
They are scared for their child. You can clearly distinguish comments made by a younger crowd and replies sent by people with children.
And that's it. Young people want their freedom, and their parents are sometimes scared to give it.
It is hard to judge here because there is not enough info, and teens sometimes tend to interpret their parents' attempts to keep them safe as the suffocation of their freedom. A good family talk is the best thing they could do.
