But if a parent says they can only spend so much time with their children before their blood begins to boil, that's a red flag. For them to then say that amount of time is very small, like only 10 or 15 minutes, that's even worse.
X user and father Justin Murphy had everyone's red flags on alert when he opened up about his limits on the platform.
"Am I just a monster? It's been four years since I became a father, and I'm beginning to fear for my soul."
"The truth is, I just don't like being around kids for very long. Historically, this is not uncommon among fathers, but today it feels almost illegal. It's causing me a lot of confusion and anguish."
"The ideal amount of time I would like to spend playing with my kids is probably about 70 to 140 minutes a week, roughly ten minutes each day, maybe two times per day, while taking breaks from work."
"My feelings of love toward them are perfectly strong, but if I have to watch them or entertain them for more than about 10 minutes, my blood starts to boil. I just want to be working or accomplishing something. I try to be grateful, but it doesn't work."
This was inspired by the battle between a baseball and a cup of coffee.
"It's 9:00 AM this morning, Saturday, January 3. It's a sunny, warm day here in Austin, and my four-year-old son is begging me to play catch in the street. I was drinking coffee, still waking up, so I didn’t really feel like it, but at this age, his desire to play is insatiable."
"He begged and begged, so I conceded, and with a smile. I have no problem being a kind and loving father. The problem is only that I do not enjoy it. It's not that I'm trying to maximize my personal pleasure; it just seems wrong that I experience so little delight when my dad friends all claim to experience so much."
"It was beautiful. We live on a picturesque, tree-lined block. I am even relatively relaxed from the holiday rest. Playing catch with your son is supposed to be an iconic, peak experience."
"Yet for every single minute, on the inside, I just don't want to be there. I want to be drinking my coffee in peace. Then I feel guilty and absurdly ungrateful, and ashamed, when we're done."
"I know that when he is a teenager, I'll long to have these days back. I have all of this perspective rationally, and I've been very patient and steadfast trying to digest it, but nothing fixes me emotionally."
"Am I a terrible person? Or is my feeling within a certain range of historically normal, and it's modern parenting norms that are off? Whether it's my fault or not, I don't even care; I just want to figure this out. Something is wrong, and I no longer have the excuse of being new to this."
You can see the original tweet here:
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The post received a great amount of attention, from those who tried to be supportive of a father who was struggling to those who didn't think this guy had it in him to be a parent at all.
And while some were sympathetic, most felt there was an issue here with dopamine addiction, prompting him to be more interested in screens than real-life play with his kids.
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After receiving the backlash, Murphy posted another lengthy tweet about his feelings about fatherhood.
"Man, I always forget the fatherhood stuff goes so crazy on the internet..."
"I'm getting a lot of cruelty, but some of it is fair. Many say I need a therapist, but in fact, this is obviously way better than a therapist. Brutal, quick, concise, and free, you feel it in your bones when a hater is correct, and just ignore it when they're not."
"Here's my summary of what seems fair and coherent from the war playing out in my replies:"
"1. There probably is a dopamine issue. I probably do have a phone problem. I tried to stop working for Christmas/New Year and kind of got depressed. There's a deeper problem here."
"2. It's funny that many people have poked at the 9:00 AM time. Of course, it was a Saturday on holiday, but that's no excuse; having small kids really does require early wakeup. I've always noticed everything goes better when I do that."
"My wife wakes early with the kids, and I often work in the evening, but again, I should just be stronger anyway and also wake up earlier every day. This might be the highest-leverage immediate solution hiding in my story, and I guess I needed a few people to make fun of me to realize that."
"3. People are right to say I should not be so concerned with my own feelings and mental state. I live in my own head way too much; that is indeed unmanly and unbecoming."
"There's only one thing I will not budge on. I will always write honestly, in public, about any damn thing I want. If you never write anything that hurts or makes you look bad, then you're just not a real writer, and your judgments mean nothing to me."
"If I found my dad‘s writings from 20 years ago, and they had honest stories about the highs and lows, just raw stuff where he wasn't trying to make himself look good, but just trying to understand fatherhood honestly and thoughtfully. There's hardly anything that could make me respect him more."
You can see the second tweet here:
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All this tweet did was prompt a lot more questions about Murphy's wife as a potential "married single mother."
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While it was okay for Murphy to be honest, and it's true that parents need breaks from their responsibilities just like anyone else, even though their responsibilities involve children, it was alarming to think of his comments coming from a place of resentment and dopamine withdrawals.
If he had children before he was ready, and if he was really in a place where he only felt joy from a screen, there are far greater issues at play, with his wife already busy enough with caring for their children while he introspects.
A man was standing next to a Smith machine, setting up the bar pad, when he confronted a woman who was lifting weights near him. He loudly told her that he didn't want any "fat people" working out near him.
At first, TikToker @_markie.__ tried to make light of the situation to help break it up, not realizing what exactly had been said, by pointing out it was a new year full of new opportunities, and he resumed his set when the woman walked away and started venting to a friend.
The woman was clearly hurt by the man's comments, confiding that she was a happily married woman, only trying to get her health straightened out.
But the other man continued to listen in on the woman's concerns and started commenting on her body again.
At this point, TikToker @_markie.__ dropped his weights to the ground, and he, the videographer, and several of his friends approached the man, surrounding him at his weight machine, and calling him out on his "weird" behavior of making fatphobic comments at the gym.
You can watch the video here:
Some were infuriated by bigger people being shamed, whether they went to the gym or not.
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Others were glad that TikToker @_markie.__ and his friends eventually spoke up.
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Some hoped that this wouldn't hinder the woman's health journey.
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Fortunately, the woman came across TikToker @_markie.__'s video and was happy to report that it hadn't.
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The woman is TikToker @QueenTLevelUp, and she started her health journey a while ago. The day the man criticized her was her 93rd consecutive day going to the gym.
She filmed the man that day and decided to start a TikTok page to call him out. She's since started posting accountability videos of her going to the gym and her various weight-lifting routines, nearly 100 days into her journey.
You can see her perspective from that day, here (warning: language):
"I don't like fat people around me in the gym. I'm right here. You need to go."
Fellow TikTokers loudly and proudly supported her in the comments.
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Since the incident, TikToker @_markie.__ has continued to speak up about gym etiquette on his platform.
Specifically, after he and his friends called the other man a "weirdo" for how he treated the woman, he's specifically called for "no weirdos" and "no weird behavior" in the gym.
In an uplifting video, the TikToker challenges:
"Yo, that weird sh*t won't be tolerated in the gym, man."
"Cutting all of that out for 2026!"
"Lock in. Get money. Stay consistent."
"Just make strength!"
You can watch the video here:
Fellow TikTokers were proud of TikToker @_mackie.__ for continuing to speak out.
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It's already tough enough to find the motivation to go to the gym, and then have the confidence to walk in and start working out in front of everyone, especially if you're just getting started or are trying out a new routine.
But trying to kick someone when they are only trying to improve themselves is beyond low, and it's the last thing we need to see in the spaces that are meant to improve our health and happiness.
X user and scientist Peyman Milanfar recently flew first class with United Airlines and had a particular bone to pick with the meal he received during the five-hour flight.
He shared an image of the salad he received, and while the bowl was full, the contents were questionable at best, with off-color meat, large cubes of cheese, and a whole, past-its-expiration-date tomato included.
Milanfar demanded in the tweet:
"Hey, United Airlines, is this a joke? I just flew [over five] hours in First Class, and this bowl of sadness is what you serve me for dinner?"
"Between the 3D-printed mystery meat, the cafeteria cheese cubes, and the whole tomato I need a chainsaw to cut, this is genuinely unbelievable."
You can see the tweet here:
Fellow X-users were shocked by Milanfar's meal and made comments of their own about it.
Some were so grossed out, they felt they'd never eat an in-flight meal again.
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One X user commented with a photo of the subpar meal he'd received on a flight:
And then, of course, there's whatever this is from Ryanair:
To offer an alternative perspective, some X users shared photos of meals they'd received on other airlines around the world that were much more appetizing, not to mention worth the money.
Maybe it's just a five-hour flight where something could easily be eaten right after, maybe it was just a poorly-prepared salad, and maybe this is totally just a first world concern to be posting about on the internet.
The true issue is the fact that people's ability to stretch a dollar is shrinking by the day—and while their purchase prices keep going up, the quality of what they're receiving keeps going down.
The negative correlation needs to stop, and serving better airline food on an expensive flight might not be the way to fix it, but it certainly would be a step in the right direction.
But then a follow-up email was sent to the volunteers, detailing rehearsal times, physical requirements, and other demands.
TikToker @dremonteon signed up, eager to volunteer, only to realize too late that she was disqualified for something she couldn't control: her height.
In the video, she recounted:
"My husband really thought I was kidding when I said I was signing up to volunteer at the halftime show."
"But then I actually got the email. Like, am I the only delusional one who did this?"
"So, then I get the email, and I'm like, 'Wow, it could really happen,' you know?"
"[But the height requirement] is 5'7'', like? I'm 5'5'' on a good day!"
"5'7'' is crazy."
In a text overlay on the video, TikToker @dremonteon called out Bad Bunny:
"Like come on Benito, why you doing us shorties like that??"
You can watch the video here:
Fans everywhere were perplexed by the height requirement, questioning what they'd have to do at the halftime show that would require they be taller than the average person.
Fellow volunteers shared TikToker @dremonteon's disappointment.
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Bad Bunny being the performer that he is, we suspect the height requirement is related to choreography or some visual component of the show. Either way, it left a lot of fans disappointed to come so close only to be disqualified because of something they can't change about themselves.
They'll just have to watch the halftime show to figure out why.
