THIS TIK TOK GENERATION!!!...

 

I love them..Yes I do and I have  pledged every day to join them..if only I could get brave enough.

There is no age limit to Tik Tokers.. not anymore. Young people believed at one time that it was created for them and them alone. And they used to make disparaging remarks when older folks took to Tik Tok and made their comments or simply behaved silly for the laughs..

Now I see seniors using the platform to tell our history, the stories of old-time Jamaica, teaching well-needed English and grammar  .. and exchanging  their own personal experiences. It's a new and creative way to keep our culture alive...long after this older generation would have  expired. This is good for the younger folks too ..if  they will listen.

But young people are also sharing their stories and we the older folks need to also listen to them. Though they may not have the years of experience that we do, they look at life in a different and oftentimes more interesting way. Some have actually opened our eyes to the way they view things, like parenting, religion, politics and very interestingly, sex  and relationships.

I love their openness and uninhibited way of analyzing all the rules and regulations, the structures of our society which  were so embedded and planted in our brains…some of which makes no sense.  For them those rules are outgrown and civilization has beckoned to us to throw them away. Some of the issues that come to mind are aspects of the church and religion  but i better not go there for fear of being crucified for my comments. Like this younger generation, I support their views. Truth is I had been thinking some of the very things that they are brave enough to put on Tik Tok, but I dared not open my mouth here to utter those views about the white God in the sky to whom we have been praying and waiting for deliverance when we die.

On the topic of politics, these Tik Tokers  are fearless in addressing issues that affect them and fearless in directing their comments to the particular government representatives ..not even PM Andrew Holness has escaped their wrath at times. Some can be disrespectful in their utterances one must admit and this cannot be endorsed.

Tik Tok is addictive. The platform as far as I’m concerned has kicked Netflix to one side and i daresay is the number one choice  in visual entertainment. Further there is so much reposting and  the content  creators have become social media stars earning while they sleep. I’m still trying to understand the earning part and it's calling me to kick shyness and conservative lifestyle  to the curb side and go for it. 

Who would have imagined that Jamaicans and other Tik Tockers could be so creative in telling their stories? Away with radio and books.. Mind you some are crude and outlandish beyond imagination, but that's what makes it even more entertaining..the beyond imagination parts... 

When it comes to sex, the women have thrown inhibitions through the window. They have dismissed completely the saying that” girls you cant do what the guys do and still be a lady”.  After all they question who or what is a lady? Some are not even shy in talking about their own sex life. Straight up…. and where Tik Tok does not allow, the video they post and share independently. I blush when I hear these women talk about their men’s performance or non-performance and their preference for younger men. 

This could never happen in our time 

But  watch your comments on their posts because if you post unfavourable comments, these Tik Tokers will curse the shirt off your back and they will address you directly.

It’s a whole new world and as my children say. They are convinced that .I belong to the new age..the millennial generation because I don’t think like my colleagues and the other elders. I’m open to new and refreshing ideas and even have many of my own.

So Tik Tok..look out for me soon..wid one eye..lol.  

Editors Note:

Ms Lois Grant- JP, MA, BA.(Hons) Dip Mass Comm, Cert. Broadcast Journalism BBC-London. Lois Grant's involvement in the communications and creative industry began in the newsroom at the now-defunct  Jamaica Broadcasting Corporation (JBC) . She then went on to head the  Public Relations unit, at the now-defunct Grimax Advertising. From there, Grant went into partnership with the creation of the  Promotions/Production agency.. Innercity  Promotions.  Innercity was responsible for the creation of the live dance hall series of concerts at the Harbour View and New Kingston Drive-in cinemas... the firsts in the history of entertainment in Jamaica. At the start of the '90s Grant formed her own agency under the banner, Corporate Image Communications and Productions. She stood out as a trailblazer in developing several innovative events as well as programmes for corporate brands such as  Tastee Limited,  Jamaica National Building Society, City of Kingston Cooperative Credit Union, and various government agencies. Looking back Grant notes that she has played her role in changing the political landscape of three Caribbean islands, including Jamaica. Her last assignment before taking early retirement, saw her as the Director of Communications in the Office of the Prime Minister of Jamaica from 2007-early 2013.