By Michael Pittman
“My grandson took my grabber and put it on a shelf that I can only reach with my grabber. I got it back after he filmed me doing a ‘death drop,’" said one grandparent.
"My granddaughter said she wouldn't change my Siri back to English unless I did a dance with her.”
These are just some of the complaints we have heard from our nation’s grandparents regarding their exploitation for views on the popular video app, TikTok. With TikTok being the epicenter of youth culture, many are looking to their grandparents as a potential source of views, likes, and internet fame.
“I can’t even relax anymore! Everyday my grandson is shoving his phone in my face, asking if I can throw a split. When I ask him what that means he tells me we have to redo the take. I just want things to go back to normal... when they didn’t call us!”
Numerous states have set up a hotline for grandparents to call with questions regarding TikTok and other social media exploitation. We had a chance to speak with one of the hotline responders. She had this to say:
“The majority of the calls we get are grandparents asking if they may be ‘canceled.' We always tell them the same thing: probably.”
For right now, the hunger for entertainment within our nation’s youth seems to be fixated on the elderly. We can only hope it stays that way.
