[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/singapore\/not-too-old-for-tiktok\/#NewsArticle","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/singapore\/not-too-old-for-tiktok\/","headline":"Not too old for TikTok","name":"Not too old for TikTok","description":"Madam Wan Soon Moi is, you could say, an 89-year-young TikTok star. She is on TikTok every day as the leading \u201cactress\u201d of @grandmotherstories, managed by her grandson Josiah Leong. But wait.\u00a0 When one thinks of TikTok, videos of young kids doing funny dances, lip-synching, and horsing around come to mind. About a third of […]","datePublished":"2022-02-02","dateModified":"2022-04-15","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/author\/lee_chong-ming\/#Person","name":"Lee Chong Ming","url":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/author\/lee_chong-ming\/","identifier":327,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a8e373c266b56aff8d5e84fb0afb7bef2cff246386c903c49397595b5b46f384?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a8e373c266b56aff8d5e84fb0afb7bef2cff246386c903c49397595b5b46f384?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"TheHomeGround Asia","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/photo_2021-07-22-222533.jpeg","url":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/photo_2021-07-22-222533.jpeg","width":640,"height":640}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/@grandmotherstories-Tik-Tok_Featured-Image.jpg","url":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/@grandmotherstories-Tik-Tok_Featured-Image.jpg","height":900,"width":1600},"url":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/singapore\/not-too-old-for-tiktok\/","commentCount":"1","comment":[{"@type":"Comment","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/singapore\/not-too-old-for-tiktok\/#Comment1","dateCreated":"2026-04-16 04:28:20","description":"Your point of view caught my eye and was very interesting. Thanks. I have a question for you. https:\/\/www.binance.com\/id\/register?ref=UM6SMJM3","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"Vytvorit \u00facet na binance","url":"https:\/\/accounts.binance.info\/cs\/register-person?ref=OMM3XK51"}}],"about":["Community","Local","Singapore"],"wordCount":1327,"articleBody":"Madam Wan Soon Moi is, you could say, an 89-year-young TikTok star. She is on TikTok every day as the leading \u201cactress\u201d of @grandmotherstories, managed by her grandson Josiah Leong.But wait.\u00a0When one thinks of TikTok, videos of young kids doing funny dances, lip-synching, and horsing around come to mind. About a third of TikTok users in the United States are under 20, according to a June 2020\u00a0Statistica\u00a0Report.\u00a0TikTok, a widely known platform for Gen-Z. (Photo source: theAsianparent)However, the TikTok age demographic is slowly trending upwards, with tens of millions of adults in the US using the application for entertainment and to express themselves. Many on TikTok also share videos on an array of topics beyond what stereotypes suggest \u2014 food, fitness, relationships, fashion, and politics \u2014 turning TikTok into an engaging social media application with diverse contents.Interestingly, there have also been some seniors, like Madam Wan who have become stars on TikTok. In fact, her account @grandmotherstories has reached thousands at minimum and has even gone up to 2.8 million views. Her grandson Mr Leong, 31, uploads his day-to-day interactions with his grandmother \u2013 often \u201csome really precious moments\u201d that are fortunately recorded \u2013 as well as the occasional TikTok dance trends that Madam Wan joyfully partakes in.\u00a0Like Madam Wan, many seniors on TikTok are featured mostly in videos made by their grandkids and Mr Leong says Madam Wan \u201cdefinitely feels happy to be a part of TikTok\u201d, and it seems like other seniors who are on the app enjoy it too.\u00a0So, is TikTok, a video-based social network that\u2019s popular with teens and younger adults, a beneficial app for seniors too? Should more of them join TikTok?\u00a0Why seniors are joining TikTok\u00a0More seniors are doing TikTok videos for entertainment. (Photo source: seniorsmatter.com)Some older adults use TikTok as a platform to bond with their kids and grandkids, others just want to discover what the younger generation is up to.For Madam Wan and Mr Leong, TikTok has \u201cgiven [us] a little more reason to spend time together\u201d. Mr Leong says that most of the elderly in Singapore are not entirely sure of what social media entails, or are still trying to grasp the mechanics of these applications. For them, making TikTok videos is really more about spending time with their loved ones.Mr Leong says that in @grandmotherstories, most of the recorded moments are candid, genuine and natural. Apart from the ones chasing actual TikTok trends where specific moves are required, \u201cgrandma often just interacts with me just as how she\u00a0usually\u00a0does on a day to day basis \u2014 the by-product being that some of it is recorded\u201d.\u00a0\u201cSpending time together, recorded or not, is something that she deeply appreciates at this age,\u201d the associate at DP Architects adds.Mr Leong also jokes that being a TikTok star \u201cfulfils her childhood ambition of being a singer and actor in a small way too\u201d.\u00a0TikTok also got some elderly moving and grooving to certain dance challenges. In a video posted by St Hilda\u2019s Community Services, two elderly were recorded doing their rendition of the \u201cGo Daddy Go\u201d challenge, and it garnered over 300,000 views. Madam also enjoys the occasional rhythmic gestures; according to Mr Leong, though she always says that she will need more practice and may give up mid-way. It makes for good videos nonetheless.Inspiring intergenerational bonding\u00a0 @grandmotherstories \u2764\ufe0f\ud83d\udc51\u2764\ufe0f \u266c Birthday – Anne-Marie  When TikTok wasn\u2019t around then, Mr Leong\u00a0 was already featuring Madam Wan on his Instagram stories since 2016. There, she grew extremely popular among his friends, and he noticed a large number of friends responding to stories featuring her, even expressing their die-hard \u201cfan-ship\u201d for her.When TikTok started, Mr Leong\u2019s friends egged him on to start an account with his grandmother as the \u201cmain character\u201d.\u201cBecause of the way my friends were raving about grandma on\u00a0my\u00a0Instagram stories, I knew that there is a possibility of the account gaining traction,\u201d he says.However, it is not cute antics or dance moves that made their videos a hit. Videos involving simple conversations about life and how Madam Wan views the world are the ones that gained traction, catching them by surprise.\u201cRelatability seems to be key, and audiences on TikTok are often drawn to seeing the genuine interactions between us both. They can somehow tell if the interactions are genuine,\u201d Mr Leong adds.Many Singaporeans have commented on their videos, saying how much they remind them of their own grandparents and that the videos serve as solid reminders to spend time with their loved ones. The videos have also brought Mr Leong\u2019s parents, aunts, and uncles closer together. They would often share these videos through their WhatsApp family chats and laugh along with Madam Wan.\u00a0Mr Leong says that his grandmother\u2019s friends have also expressed their happiness for her, congratulating her for being so \u201cwell-loved by her family\u201d. It is not the stardom that these seniors are envious of, but the close relationship that Mr Leong and Madam Wan has forged.\u00a0\u201c[For many of the elderly], having family care for them is a far more pressing and real desire,\u201d he adds.For Mr Leong, doing TikTok with his grandmother has affirmed his mantra of loving others and prioritising his loved ones\u2019 needs, sometimes even above his own.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cWe live in a society that teaches us to fend for and take care of ourselves, so much so that we quite naturally put ourselves \u2013 our needs and desires \u2013 above all else,\u201d he says. \u201cLoving others and fending for them \u2013 above yourself \u2013 can sometimes be a lot more fulfilling than you think\u201d.\u00a0Helping the elderly to overcome their fear of technology\u00a0Seniors should embrace technology to keep up with our digitally connected world. (Photo Source: M1)@grandmotherstories is certainly a positive example of how technology can not only help the elderly keep up with times and allay their fear of mechanisation, but also build stronger relationships with their loved ones.\u00a0Ms Lynn Ng, clinical psychologist at Annabelle Psychology, says that it is beneficial for the elderly to use social media platforms like TikTok to stay connected and keep up with society. At the same time, they may be able to find and reconnect with their (long-lost) friends.\u201cWith the ongoing COVID-19 situation, more and more elderly do not fear technology as much. They realise how technology can bridge physical distance and bring them out of isolation,\u201d Ms Ng says.However, Ms Ng says that there is still a group of elderly who continue to fear technology. For these elderly, especially with COVID-19 measures kicking in at the start of the pandemic, they experience sudden isolation from family and social circles as they are not familiar with the use of smartphones, tablets, and social media applications.\u00a0Ms Ng recommends that adults and young people help these elderly to get rid of their fear of technology, especially when they need to be digitally connected to the rest of the world.\u201cFor many of these elderly, they fear the unknown and learning new skills later in life is more challenging as compared to learning new skills at a younger age. They would require more practice, repetition, and reminders to learn how to navigate the apps and overcome problems associated with the use of technology,\u201d the clinical psychologist adds.Ms Ng says that having young people introduce such digital platforms like TikTok to the elderly will also help forge closer relationships.To guide the elderly in embracing technology, Ms Ng advises that young people need to be patient in teaching them and helping them out whenever they ask for guidance.\u00a0 It is also important to let the elderly try to navigate the digital tools on their own without judgement, so that they can gain confidence and open up to the benefits of using digital platforms and tools, she adds.Join the conversations on TheHomeGround Asia\u2019s Facebook and Instagram, and get the latest updates via Telegram."},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Destinations","item":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Singapore","item":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/\/singapore\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Not too old for TikTok","item":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/singapore\/not-too-old-for-tiktok\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]