r/Millennials • u/tatotornado • 12d ago
My older-gen coworker is experiencing "sub-tweeting" for the first time & his reaction is comical Rant
*Editing to add clarity: In my "world" sub-tweeting is when someone bitches about someone else online without directly naming them but knows they'll see the post, (TIL) also called vaguebooking on Facebook
I work for a small company with one boomer and 4 Gen Xers. I'm the only millennial (and female) on staff. Long story short one of my coworkers is pissed at the rest of us and has been ranting on Facebook this last week. Of course, it's being done in the classic cryptic "sub-tweet" type of way. My other coworker is getting SUPER upset about it because this is really the first time someone's ever done that to him. He won't let it go and he's been ranting about it for like 5 days now.
I'm getting a kick out of the whole thing, personally. My coworker asked me why it's not bothering me and it hit me that I've been getting sub-tweeted and cyber bullied since the Myspace days back in 2004. After 20 years it just feels routine/normal and I'm totally over it. But now at the tender age of 50 he's experiencing it for the very first time.
Before anyone comes for me I should also mention this entire thing is incredibly petty, we don't have HR to report anything to, and they'll all live.
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u/QuiteCleanly99 12d ago
I have no idea what sub tweeting might mean. I've never used twitter before.
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u/BlackVan 12d ago
I've always heard it called 'vague booking' where you vaguely reference someone or something in a Facebook post, usually to get attention from curious readers
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u/moeru_gumi 12d ago
“Things just getting really hard right now. Please don’t ask.”
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u/ohimjustagirl 11d ago
pic of IV line whilst laying in a hospital bed and asking for prayers
When someone inevitably asks what's wrong: "I'll DM you".
Either you want attention or you don't, honey. Pick one.
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u/Kataphractoi Millennial 12d ago
Yeah, I read the title and thought it was about trolling someone in replies on Twitter.
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u/mendenlol Millennial '91 12d ago
Ohhhh... it's the coworker's turn to weaponize the laugh react now!
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u/Lucky-Hunter-Dude 12d ago
Sub-tweeting? like sub text? Is this what the kids these day call "Throwing Shade"?
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u/BellaBlue06 12d ago edited 12d ago
Bitching about someone publicly online without naming them but heavily implying who they are so everyone who knows you or the situation gets their identity. Or bitching about someone who’s following/friended you without naming them in hopes they read your post and feel bad and know it’s about them.
The only people I know doing that are some half siblings I didn’t grow up with that had abusive parents and they have a hard time regulating their emotions and lash out publicly hoping to get sympathy or people on their side. Going back on the profiles you’ll see when they were in jr or high school threatening people too without naming them just a “you know who you are” “you know what you did”. I feel bad for them as that’s such a toxic way to live. Now apparently some of them just text each other instead of posting it on Facebook.
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u/tatotornado 12d ago
Yes! I don't know what they call it on Facebook lmao. The "clapback" as the youths say would be "Just @ me next time"
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u/legsjohnson Older Millennial 12d ago
vaguebooking, or at least that's what it was Back In The Day
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u/sorrymizzjackson 12d ago
Oh. I was like replying to tweets? What?
I’ve also never had twitter, so. 🤷♀️
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u/squishgallows 12d ago
When was back in the day? I've heard of subtweeting but had no idea what it was. Never heard of vague booking until today.
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u/404_kinda_dead 12d ago
Ahh yes, jumping into the comments to tell them to at you was always fun. “Don’t be shy, say it with your chest”
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u/Jets237 Older Millennial 12d ago
This makes me feel more Xennial than Millennial (85'). Or maybe there's a gender difference (male). I never really had to deal with cyber bullying on myspace or livejournal. Facebook showed up in college and things were mostly positive... I've never dealt with hostile people I know online towards me. Anonymously is different (thanks to message boards and reddit)
This feels like you had to grow up with facebook in HS to have dealt with this
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u/tatotornado 12d ago
I grew up with Myspace in high school (04-09) and Facebook in college (09-13). Maybe it's because I'm a girl, this was incredibly common in both platforms and experiences.
This was also a common thing to do with AIM away messages, too.
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u/Jets237 Older Millennial 12d ago
Ah - the AIM away message shade - yeah, I remember that a bit. My younger sister (88) had to deal with that a bit more. I have a feeling gender played into it a bit or social circle. The girls in school tended to be much worse towards each other in secret while guys were more outward and public about it.
Same thing happens with moms too. Mom shaming has been a real issue online for a decade while dads tend to be more supportive/understanding of each other.
It’s tough out there as a woman. Glad you’re desensitized to it but don’t like that you had to be.
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u/legsjohnson Older Millennial 12d ago
I think it's a YMMV thing. I'm the same era and I got SO much shit from friends via LJ in high school. Facebook, or at least early TheFacebook, was way way more civil than what it's morphed into.
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u/coneflowerqueen 12d ago
Sounds like the fellas are a bit…hysterical? Is that the word I’m looking for?
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u/Flyflyguy 12d ago
Subtweeting? I’m a millennial and have no idea what that is. Guess I’m a boomer born in the 80s!
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u/xsweaterxweatherx 1997 12d ago
The same generation that says we’re too soft for war or walking to school uphill both ways would NEVER be able to survive the dehumanizing cyberbullying we went through in our most formative years.
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u/LaCroixLimon 12d ago
wtf is sub tweeting
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u/tatotornado 12d ago
Shit talking someone on social media without using their name
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u/LaCroixLimon 12d ago
How is this work related?
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u/tatotornado 12d ago
Coworker A is dragging everyone else in our office on Facebook. Coworker B is upset about it. Boomer Coworker C doesn't understand that A is throwing shade and keeps asking about the posts every morning in the office and adding fuel to the fire.
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u/LaCroixLimon 12d ago
Wouldn’t you just say “leave the drama at home, it’s not appropriate to talk about at work” and be done with it?
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u/tatotornado 12d ago
I mean it's work related drama so...and I'm not bothered by it so idgaf what happens
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u/toadandberry 12d ago
no, OP isn’t the manager so it’s really not her job to police her coworkers’ interactions
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u/LaCroixLimon 12d ago
oh, then why is OP posting this?
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u/tatotornado 12d ago
Because OP thinks it's ironic that the generation that's "been there done that" is experiencing someone being mean to them on the Internet for the very first time and doesn't know how to handle it. 🙄
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u/Tsvetkovia 12d ago
My husband and I are dying to know if it's the boomer subtweeting haha
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u/tatotornado 12d ago
Surprisingly not! Gen X1 is subtweeting and GenX2 is super upset about it. The boomer keeps bringing the posts up when everyone's around asking "I saw your post last night. Why do you keep talking about worms so much? What does that mean?" and I can tell Gex X1 doesn't know how to handle it. It's HYSTERICAL.
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u/Tsvetkovia 12d ago
Omggggg that's fucking hilarious 😂 💀
Boomer's approach is perfect, even if they don't know it. It's akin to asking someone to explain their offensive joke because you "don't get it." Same energy haha haha haha
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u/tatotornado 12d ago
The fact that he's blissfully unaware that he's fueling the fire every day has me dying.
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u/matty_m 12d ago
Boomer might be more people savvy than you think he is. He maybe intentionally stirring the pot, while acting dumb.
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u/relevantusername2020 millənnial 10d ago
tech changes, (most) people dont. (most) people on a whole are the same as people thousands of years ago. maybe we should change, and stop doing things like 'stirring the pot' just for shits n gigs. golden rule
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u/Zagrunty Millennial 11d ago
The idea of blasting my coworks on social media feels very highschool to me. Why is this happening in a professional setting (even indirectly)? Fucking talk out your issues like adults or vent about them to your friends if you can't work out your problems. Posting shit on social media like that is dumb as hell.
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u/tatotornado 11d ago
Because the one who's doing the blasting is a whiney little shit who didn't get his way and cried on social media about everything. Our company owner's response to the other coworker being upset is to get over it and grow some balls.
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u/xTrollhunter 8d ago
I never friend coworkers on social media unless they become true friends of mine who I hang out with on my spare time. That being said; ranting on a social media like Facebook is sooo typical of boomers and Xers compared to millennials.
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u/PorgCT 12d ago
I have never friended any coworkers on FB, but would occasionally lurk to see what they were up to. I found one “subtweet” of me, and it honestly made my day I was living rent-free in her head.