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Videos on TikTok and Instagram are shot not only by teenagers and yesterday’s schoolchildren. Over the past couple of years, bloggers 70+ have become popular. We understand why they come to social networks and how they are received by the audience
What motivates older people to become bloggers
Blogging is often inspired by grandchildren or other relatives: they show TikTok videos to older people, offer to shoot something similar and post it. Social networks are becoming a new hobby for people who were not familiar with them before, and the positive reaction to the video encourages and motivates them to shoot more.
Elena Kuftyak, Head of the Department of Developmental and Family Psychology, Moscow Institute of Psychoanalysis, Doctor of Psychology:
“The modern world provides more opportunities for self-expression than 30 years ago. Openness to new experiences, curiosity, interest in life are important personality traits that help a person cope with stress and difficulties in everyday life. These qualities allow the brain and body not to age, not to stop there.”
Social networks really help to feel better. Scientists from the US and the UK followed the mental state of 3 older adults with depression and tested how online interaction with people affected their condition. It turned out that those who tried to establish social contacts on the Web, depressive episodes were reduced by 075%.
Elena Kuftyak:
“Studies say that if an older person does not have a network of social contacts, he is more likely to experience a decline in mental abilities. From this point of view, the quality of life is higher for people who communicate with relatives, friends, like-minded people: such contacts prolong and improve their lives.”
In 2018, The Guardian asked older beauty bloggers why they started making videos. Trisha Kasden from London decided to start a blog to speak out against ageism. She was outraged that the British supermodel Cara Delevingne, who at that time was 25 years old, became the face of anti-aging cosmetics.
Another heroine of the article, Marksy Park from South Korea, started a blog because of her granddaughter: she was worried that her grandmother would get sick more often due to age and boredom.
If we analyze the accounts of popular bloggers on TikTok and Instagram (from 20 subscribers), we can distinguish five main topics:
- Making fun of yourself
Bloggers joke about their family life, about the fact that they don’t understand something in the modern world, about relations with neighbors. Such content is found in many bloggers – for example, in Tik-Tok it is @konstaantinich.
@konstaantinich A joke on your wife 😄 try to play your loved ones like this!
♬ Monkeys Spinning Monkeys — Kevin MacLeod & Kevin The Monkey
This is how the @konstaantinich audience reacts to his new video about pranking his wife.
- Stories from my own life, from the life of the country, interesting facts
The topics are different: for example, @tosikfm talks about serving in the army, and @babushka_maria responds to subscribers’ comments and shares life situations.
- Trends
In TikTok, this is what they call stories for the same popular audio track, which are filmed by many popular bloggers at once. It can be a dance, a stand-up joke, or an unusual video transition. For example, trends are often removed by @zvezdanina:
@zvezdanina ♬ red light green light x money — jovynn
In October 2021, the soundtrack from the Korean series “Squid Game” became popular on TikTok, and many 70+ bloggers made a video with it.
- Useful Tips
Many bloggers help their audience deal with everyday life: for example, @nasha_babyshka and @baba.masha.1926 share simple recipes and give advice on household chores.
@baba.masha.1926 Instagram: mariia19262
@baba.masha.1926 shoots not only traditional Russian recipes, but also exotic ones. For example, her Japanese mochi cakes are not obtained by every young food blogger.
- Lifestyle
These are short sketches from life “as it is”, an illustration of simple everyday moments. For example, @olegdobriy shows how he walks with his grandchildren, and @babavera26 has a live account @babaveralife. There, Vera shows how she and her family cook and weave from beads.
- Healthy lifestyle and sports
Some TikTok and Instagram bloggers inspire sports by filming exercises and creating workout plans for followers. More often these are foreign bloggers, for example @iammsbotalley.
The audience is maturing
Over the past three to four years, TikTok and Instargram audiences have matured around the world. According to the German statistical company Statista, as of July 2021, Instagram had 6,1% of users over the age of 55, while three years earlier, in July 2018, there were less than 5%. As for TikTok, in 2021, the American media agency Wallaroo Media found that among all users, 7,1% are over 50 years old.
In our country, the situation is similar. According to Statista for 2021, 5,2% of Instagram users are over 55 years old. In 2017, they were only 2,7% – this was found out by Forbes and the platform for working with bloggers Insense. TikTok is actively used by older people – there are 15% of them.
Why is the audience well received by older bloggers?
They break stereotypes and inspire
People are afraid of getting old. The British cosmetics company Microlift conducted a study that proved that women begin to worry about aging as early as 20 years old. There are several reasons: “deterioration” of appearance, reduction in activity, fear of becoming an unclaimed specialist. Bloggers 70+ show that you can be active at any age and it depends only on the person whether he becomes a “typical pensioner”.
Elena Kuftyak:
“The image of a “grandmother in a headscarf” has little to do with the modern older generation. It is increasingly involved in various forms of public life. This is a good positive model for the younger generation: they see that it is possible to be active and inquisitive not only at 20, but also at 70.”
Bloggers 70+ are more sincere than the younger generation
Most bloggers aged 20-45 show their ideal life on social networks: well-designed interiors, well-dressed children, athletic figures. The audience is tired of these trends – they want something real. That is why today designer lofts are being replaced by ordinary rustic interiors with sideboards, glass slides, and sometimes stoves. Older bloggers talk about their lives honestly and without embellishment – this is what bribes subscribers.
Olesia Kay:
“Instagram is a platform for demonstrating the ideal life, mostly bloggers do not show their real selves there, with all the flaws. TikTok is more about people and their individuality, so sincerity is appreciated here. I think that’s why 70+ bloggers become popular: they don’t try to look better than they really are, and the audience likes it.”
Are brands and businesses interested in influencers over 70?
In recent years, brands have been more active in offering collaborations to people over 70. For example, @superbusya advertises taxi services. And some 70+ bloggers are promoting their own products: for example, 76-year-old fitness trainer @iammsbotalley sells workout programs.
And in 2016, the Oldushka agency appeared in our country, which works with older models:
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