"Death by Embarrassment" — Moms Set up Playdates for Their College-Student Kids via Online Groups

There's a new treasure trove of real-life entertainment available on the internet that's cropping up all over social media now. And it's dying from the secondhand embarrassment you'll feel after reading the messages parents are posting in Facebook groups regarding their first-year college students.

Previously, Distractify has documented the hilarity behind some of these Facebook posts. One of the most horrifying instances, which seems like the type of comedy of humiliation errors straight out of a Meet the Parents film, saw a mom drive to her son's dorm room in the middle of the night. So she could talk to his roommate. About playing video games late and inviting girls over.

TikToker Kelly Coughlin (@stoochie1215) has been specializing in sourcing these posts. Sometimes she'll screenshot them and incorporate them into her videos. Oftentimes, however, she'll just recount some of the more bizarre commentary left by moms in these groups, usually shaking her head at their behavior.

In a recent video, Coughlin whispers excitedly into the camera that the Facebook mom group accounts have only gotten better ever since all of the freshmen moved into their dorms.

"I thought they couldn't get better from like the build-up to moving, to getting them ready, getting them everything, financial aid, all that stuff," she says into the camera.

And like a great reality series that ups the ante on petty interpersonal drama, Kelly says that the helicopter-parenting hasn't stopped: in fact, they're just getting more involved in their new college-aged kids' lives. Roommate fighting, parents beefing over some kids not bringing as much stuff for the dorm as another, etc.

However, Kelly said that these parents have even gone so far as to set up "playdates" for the college freshmen. "For their adult children in the dorm," she says.

While some of the posts Kelly references in her videos are from parents who clearly wish to remain anonymous, this doesn't seem to be the case with the playdate parents.

"Giving out their names and room numbers and saying, 'Yeah, they hate it when I do this, but, just private message me and I'll give you their information,'" Kelly says, highlighting the intrusiveness of this particularly hover-happy parent.

She goes on to state that the parents' coy "DM me" message wasn't necessary because of all the information they just shared in a public forum. "You already gave it, you already gave it. 'Cause you put his room number, what dorm he was in, what floor he's on, and yeah," Kelly says.

Kelly went on to mock the parent for obsessively forcing their kid to try and "make friends," stating that he's going to be fine and will more than likely "figure it out."

And while one may want to give a sympathetic nod to a parent who is "just trying to do right" by their kids, coddling of this sort, many experts say, can be harmful.

And there are tons of heartwarming and inspiring examples online of the pure joy and empowerment that washes over a child's face when they're able to figure something out on their own.

It's almost as if helicopter parents have never once seen mother nature in action.

Kelly shared another bit of online Facebook mom tea she clocked while perusing these groups. One of the moms wanted to know if anyone on the app had suggestions for how to monitor "how much protein their [kids] are getting."

"He's 100 percent going to be eating a bag of Doritos for dinner," she says into the camera, almost stunned that this late-night tortilla-chips entree didn't even occur to her as a menu option.

There was more drama too: this time having to do with a roommate not living up to the standards one of the moms had for their kid.

Their gripe? The kid didn't bring their own fan, which was apparently a really big deal to this mom. Kelly, however, didn't think so, as she swore under her breath, widened her eyes, and quickly shook her head.

At the end of her video she states that the drama is too good to pass up. And that even if folks don't have a kid going to college they would still find great joy. Joy in the wince-inspiring social media interactions between moms who probably never once thought their overbearing natures may be stifling their kids' maturity.