It was a pretty stupid political controversy. Josh Gottheimer, a congressman from New Jersey, got caught photoshopping his 2024 Spotify Wrapped list to include more Bruce Springsteen. He added in “Thunder Road” and “Badlands” and “The Rising” to his most listened songs of the year.

How did he think he was going to get away with that?

Well as parents, we probably shouldn’t judge. In fact, we should empathize. As an apologetic (and now even more embarrassed) Gottheimer explained after online sleuths noticed the tell-tale signs of editing, the issue was that shared a Spotify account with his teenage kids and they had wrecked his algorithm.

Who amongst us had not had our YouTube and Netflix and Spotify accounts horribly skewed by our kids’ love of nerdcore or the Frozen soundtrack? How will we ever convince Google that we do not, in fact, like Mr. Beast or prank videos? Will our Netflix suggestions ever recover from the Cocomelon we have watched?

It’s annoying to be sure, but it’s a small price to pay for them to discover their own interests. It’s a small price to pay for peace in the car instead of whining and complaining (and gratuitous insults about our taste). And some day, almost certainly, one of these songs will come on and we’ll be hit with a wave of nostalgia, missing that 12-year-old who liked to belt out Taylor Swift, desperately willing to trade anything for one more road trip listening to the Pokemon theme on repeat.

So we might as well enjoy it while it’s here. And not let it embarrass us for even one second.

P.S. Speaking of empathy, watch Ryan and Sam Holiday discuss the practical lessons they learned from Good Inside by Dr. Becky Kennedy—the book they said transformed their entire approach to parenting. You’ll find this video and many other helpful guides to becoming the parent you want to be over on The Daily Dad YouTube channel. Head here to subscribe today!