Toxic TikTok Time

TikTok is a phenomenon that swept the world giving everyone the opportunity to lip sync and twirl to the latest swirl while having an awesome fun filled time. Globally, we have actual ‘stars’ created through this medium with their magnificent mélange of rhythmic routines mesmerizing their multitudes of followers. This sweeping craze fanned out across the globe where everyone and anyone who loved the tongue in cheek entertainment, had heaps of creative fun. The publicity machine focused on this to the point where the Orangest of the Orange, the former Trump card in the Oval Office who couldn’t hold a cohesive thought process in his mind, took the time to even attempt a ban of TikTok! Now when this happened, we all knew that the proverbial sky was not going to be the limit, as a ban of any sort in the youth driven spheres is the sure fire way to get to the highest pinnacles of pop culture fame!

The stars became mega and the TikTok garnered riches became ‘filthy’ in the best possible way! The super savvy sauntered and sashayed all the way to the bank channeling their fame into fortunes that rivaled the mainstream recording artists and celluloid cinema legends, all the while tapping into the ‘we are all stars’ vibe. From the star of the many ‘Bad Boy’’ movies, who lived up to the name with his onstage slap-fest at the Oscars, to Dixie D’Amelio, Kristen Hancher and Addison Rae, TikTok gave rise to a fabulous array of stars and we are just spoiled for choice. From showcasing causes, pets and kids, to every possible area of life, these tikker got the tokking right.

In our lovely Island as well we saw so many amazing TikTok visuals that made us smile from ear to ear, simply laugh out loud at the awesome humorous hijinks, and sometimes think about the super smart messaging within. These talented individuals as always caught the bug and took it to the sort of ‘viral’ that had us wanting more, rather than top up our vitamin doses! From students to sports-stars, from housewives to house builders it seemed the talents were endless, and only had us wanting more. The genres ran the gamut and the skills sent us soaring, this seemed to really enliven the times we live in, in the best possible way.

Of course with the good comes the better, and with the ‘look at me oh please look at me’ came the bitter. The shudders of fright happened when the desperados danced before their devices not to have fun or to covertly channel revenue through product, but simply to try to be ‘cool.’ The easiest way not to and never ever be ‘cool’ is to try hard to be cool! Talentless, rhythmically challenged charlatans took to their phones and commenced a rollicking mess of bile inducing garbage. There were the “I’m too sexy for my senses” set who obviously assumed that a lack of any common sense was reason enough to ‘shake rattle and roll’ that got people shaking and rolling with laughter for all the wrong reasons! These tikkers were not trying to be funny, it’s just that they were so frightful at what they were attempting to do, the results were just tear inducing ‘my face hurts from laughing’ funny.

Faded actresses and jaded socialites attempted to rewind time, gyrating and slithering like overstuffed over-fed reptiles in a herpetarium, while wearing clothes that were a few sizes too small, and a few generations removed from being apropos. These Tikkers visually abused those of us who happened upon their tokking, but as we rolled with laughter, on the bright side they should be rewarded for frightening us into ensuring that we made it to our morning gym sessions! 

Filtered and flustered the terrible tikkers changed not just their complexions from Sri Lankan to Serbian but also added everything including stars and planets, as if being horrific on this planet was simply not bad enough. If anyone wanted to repulse an alien invasion, all they had to do was broadcast some of these Tikkers showcasing their tacky tokking, to frighten any intelligent species into never wanting to come anywhere near this mess.

We also keep seeing the chronologically challenged who absolutely did not have these fun outlets when they were growing up and decided that TikTok was their way of attempting to capture long lost youth. As I said in a previous article, I am absolutely against ageism and am a hand on heart believer that age is just a number. It is when that number is a teen-tastic teen-oriented tantric tirade that even I am made to avert my eyes. We see men and women with grown up kids, take such pride in highlighting the fact that they cannot dance, cannot lip sync and cannot do anything involving rhythm, but will determinedly attempt to tik their toks for all to see. Joining them of course are their equally rhythm challenged like mind-less comrades who decide that if they do this collectively, they may get better. Unfortunately, the end result is just more flailing limbs. Maybe they want to get a special award for lack of coordination? Or could it be an award for bringing to life that old saying ‘mutton dressed up as lamb’! Their kids would probably disown them for these escapades if they did not feel sorry for them and their last ditch efforts at garnering a far far far from achievable accolade for talent! I have never been one to say ‘act your age and not your shoe size,’ but if the shoe fits, well take the hint.

Everyone has a right to have fun and maybe it is the lack of these social platforms to many in the past, that have made them dive in the deep end with a complete lack of abandon. Kudos to the fun part, but there is a fine line where the ‘fun’ highlights not just how disconnected they are from the realities of their own capabilities, but from the world at large. Channel your boredom into more engaging areas where you may actually have the skills to not just thrive but inspire. Also as you enjoy the entertainment, if you choose these particular arenas of media, do try to be entertaining as well. Stars we all certainly can be, but usually in many different areas of life. Us knowing which boxes to tik however makes a world of difference.