There is a pretty fine line between bullying and just some pranks. Chances are, if you’re only ever the victim of pranks and have never found them amusing in the first place, you’re just being bullied. A reasonable person would stop after being told off, but what if even one’s family thinks it’s just hilarious to keep making someone miserable?
A woman shared her story of having to enforce boundaries when a final prank in a long list of humiliation caused her to cut contact with her family. We reached out to the netizen who made the post via private message and will update the article when she gets back to us.
Some pranks are a lot worse than others
Image credits: Eduardo Ramos / unsplash (not the actual photo)
But one woman had enough and decided to go no contact
Image credits: No_Trick223 / reddit (not the actual photo)
Image credits: Spiritual-Ad5091
Some people mask their cruelty as “just a joke”
When “pranks” transition from occasional jokes to ongoing barrages of tricks, ambushes, and hidden setups, they transition from playful joking to a form of bullying. One good-natured prank, like a bucket of confetti as someone walks through a doorway, can be funny in the instant. But when family members make you the resident prank victim, taking your keys, sending fake emergency texts, or humiliating you on Facebook, it becomes a pattern of control maneuvers that wears down your trust and self-esteem.
Constant pranks exploits the element of surprise to keep you in a perpetual state of alarm. You start to wonder about every party invitation, every drop-in visit to your front door, and every unsolicited e-mail gift landing in your inbox. That constant nervousness isn’t fun; it’s a drip of emotional tension. Nobody likes to feel like they’re one joke from being the punchline of the next. The longer this goes on, the more the pranking gets filtered out and any feeling of security or comfort you have around your own family is drowned out.
In addition, if the “joke” is taken at the cost of public humiliation, posting photographs or videos without your consent, or tagging you the family clown, it damages your reputation and self‑esteem. A prank that puts you red‑faced among peers or co-workers causes you to replay the embarrassment long after the pranksters have consigned you to the dustbin of history. That baggage of embarrassment can attach itself to social events, work gatherings, and even your own memories of family times.
Clear boundaries are good for everyone
Image credits: Image-Source / envato (not the actual photo)
It isn’t ruining the party to establish boundaries with family members who enjoy pranking, it’s about protecting your emotional well-being. Telling them you don’t want to be part of their continuous jokes sends one clear message: your consent matters. And if they do value you, they’ll dial down the jokes and allow two-way laughter to happen naturally once more. If they double down on jokes or ignore your feelings, what they’re really doing is that they care more about the laughs than about your comfort, and that’s a poisonous dynamic, not a loving family tradition.
Sometimes, one conversation is not enough. If your concern is met with eye rolling, accusations of “having no sense of humor,” or underhanded escalation of the prank, it’s acceptable to distance yourself. Withdrawing contact, even temporarily, tells the prankster you will not be mocked for another person’s amusement. This bout of self-defense can be the wake-up call the prankster needs to realize the harm being done.
Lastly, family dynamics must be founded upon respect rather than a hierarchy of who can pull off the most prank. By avoiding round-the-clock pranking, or by stepping out of the situation when things get too crazy, you regain control and assert that good humor constructs up rather than tears down. In so doing, you not only preserve your own sanity but also create a boundary that encourages more considered, considerate behavior from the very people who are supposed to care most about you.
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Some people thought she overreacted
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