Puppets of the Pop-ups

My daughter, Jessie, just 22, put down her phone at dinner and dropped a bomb: "I want all my rent money back. Plus interest." I sat there, stunned.

But then, above her head, words pulsed in a glowing rectangle only I could see: *"It’s time. Your boomer parents are exploiting you! Demand financial freedom!”*

That night was the start of a nightmare. The pop-ups raged, screaming about my 'theft' and Jessie's 'emotional labor,' twisting her into a demanding, entitled stranger.