80 years old with 11 million followers: meet TikTok’s ‘granfluencers’

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Robert Reeves, Michael “Mick” Peterson, Bill Lyons and Jessay Martin have over 11 million TikTok followers. They post daily to keep up with trends, such as singing Miley Cyrus’ Flowers or recreating Jenna Ortega’s Wednesday dance. They’ve even hired a videographer and producer to zhuzh up their content. So far, they sound like every other influencer, but these four have a trick up their sleeve: their age.

Spanning between 67 and 80, they’re a good 50 or so years older than the average TikTok user. Known as the “Old Gays”, they’ve gained significant traction largely because they’re nothing like the usual 20-somethings dominating digital spaces.

Bill Lyons, Jessay Martin, Robert Reeves and Mick Peterson (L-R) are here to prove you’re never too old to have fun and that TikTok has no age limit.Credit: Ryan Yezak/Supplied

“Young people jumped on us,” Lyons says. “The kids were just so interested in our background and what we’ve done before, it was a real roller coaster.”

According to We Are Social, those aged 18 to 24 make up almost 43 per cent of TikTok’s total audience aged 18 and above. But the popularity of mature content creators – or “granfluencers” – is quickly dismantling the generational stereotype. While they’re not the majority demographic, granfluencers seem to have their finger on the pulse of what users enjoy. For example, Grandma Droniak, a 93-year-old TikToker who shares her dating journey, has 9.6 million followers. While Cool Grandpa has pulled in 6.3 million followers with his snappy meme-inspired videos.

Locally, Sydney-based “thechainzfamily” has 5.9 million followers. The account’s creator Ricky Chang says his page took off when he placed his granny at the forefront, growing their followers by 40,000 in a week.

“Granny loves the attention and it keeps her mind active. In her youth she always wanted to be an opera singer and entertain people, so to have this opportunity at her age to fulfil her dreams is amazing,” Chang says.

“People love Granny, she’s funny, cute and innocent … We use a lot of trending jokes and gags and all our content is steeped in meme and internet culture, perfect for kids and adults alike.”

Professor of media and communications at The University of Sydney Catherine Lumby notes a recent collapse of generational boundaries online, which has created space for older people to share their stories on stereotypically “young” platforms.

“Just because someone’s over the age of 50 doesn’t mean they don’t have a sense of humour,” Lumby says. “It’s become a way of all generations connecting and finding their own tribes.”

The Old Gays, who live in California, relate to this. “We don’t just wither away and die [when we get old]. We’re full of life, vibrant and being active,” Reeves says. They also find value in offering support and inspiration for young viewers, particularly LGBTQIA+ youth.

“In seeing us, it can help them surmount the battles they’re facing in life,” Peterson says. “We wear our experiences on our faces, in our words and our deeds, and I think that imparts to young people. Not just a sense of gravitas, but that we’ve been through the wars and the successes, and we’ve lived to tell our tale.”

Other granfluencers may join to stay connected to their grandkids or to fill up their spare time and remain connected to the world post-retirement, Lumby says. Their growing online presence indicates a maturation not only of more contemporary platforms like TikTok, but of the digital media landscape at large.

“We used to talk about digital natives, which implies there were people who were just completely hopeless at technology. But that’s no longer the case,” Lumby says. “Pretty much everyone’s got a smartphone in their bag and a laptop on their desk.”

Associate professor in the school of computing and information systems at The University of Melbourne Jenny Waycott says many older adults enjoy learning new skills, including technology. “Learning to use TikTok is a challenge to overcome rather than a barrier.”

She points to a number of successful older creators as evidence of this trend, including Peter Oakley, one of the earliest YouTube stars who began his account “Geriatric1927″ when he was 79 to document his family history, and Shirley Curry, a great-grandmother in her 80s who amassed a following sharing videos of her playing the Skyrim video game.

However, professor of music, media and creative practice at Macquarie University Julian Knowles notes the “frenetic pace” of TikTok and its high-intensity videos as a possible obstacle.

“Younger people tend to be adept at short-form content navigation,” he says. “It takes a while for older people to acclimatise to the frenetic pace of a platform like TikTok because it’s less familiar to them than traditional media forms.”

Beyond the technical and physical challenges that come with age, the Old Gays have received some negative responses to their growing fame, some of which have even posed a physical threat, such as Peterson’s windows being shot out.

Then there’s the pressure to maintain their momentum, which their producer, Ryan Yezak, describes as “mentally and physically crippling” at times. But the support of their followers, as well as support from their team, keep them going.

“You take the good with the bad, that’s life,” Martin says.

“You’re always going to get detracting comments, it’s just whether you’re going to give them any water. I’m not carrying any water,” Peterson says.

Since creating their account in 2021, the Old Gays have been asked to do public appearances, are attending VidCon in Anaheim and have made it onto TikTok’s inaugural list of honourees to celebrate Pride month. Miley Cyrus even shared one of their videos on her Instagram Stories.

Knowles says this kind of granfluencer success is largely down to TikTok’s interface. Rather than favouring content from those you follow (who likely mirror your demographic), TikTok develops algorithms based on interests, which helps older creators push in front of other content and reach young users.

Many of these accounts remind young people of their own grandparents and are therefore a source of comfort and nostalgia.

They also offer a much-needed break from the influx of highly curated influencer content, Lumby says.

“A characteristic of younger users is that social media increasingly is a way of trying out a persona. Older people have a more established identity, so there’s probably less experimentation of the self and more realism.”

Though their online presence is increasing, they’re still a minority on the platform. Knowles says many take advantage of this self-awareness, opting to make “age inappropriate” content, like dancing to an Ice Spice rap, for example.

“Their material is often ironic,” Knowles says. “There are grannies shredding guitar solos using TikTok filters, dancing to the latest electronic pop or hip hop and there are lots of unexpectedly strong language. They revel in the ‘fish out of water’ trope.”

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