Although she says she is pretty active on social media, this baby boomer didn’t see TikTok as a place for people in her age group. That's because statistics show less than five percent of people over the age of 60 use TikTok compared to more than 60 percent between the ages of 10 and 29-years-old.

The part-time college writing consultant says she decided to join the social media site Mother’s Day weekend because of her 14-year-old grandson. She says, “Because of the pandemic and virtual learning, I thought there might be a need for my vocabulary coaching but I wasn’t sure so I asked my grandson what he thought and he said go for it!” In her introductory video, she posted a couple of photos of herself with the caption: Guess who just joined TikTok? Don’t tell me daughter and grandson. “My grandson thought it was pretty cool and was probably even more surprised that I did it myself.”

After introducing herself in the social media space, she began posting :60 videos of vocabulary words and their definitions and, she says, they immediately became a hit. The word “cognizant” has received the most reactions with over 155K views. Her video for the word “impetuous” has been seen more than 130K times. “There is a real thirst for knowledge out there,” Beverly says, in spite of all of the craziness you see on TikTok.” She says her grandson did warn her about the mean-spirited people who might leave nasty comments because of her age and that’s why she decided to call herself Auntie Bev. So far, the comments have been overwhelmingly positive with followers saying things like:

“I love that you use the word in a sentence. It makes it easier for me to add as a part of my vocabulary…”

“I love your content Auntie!"

"Thanks Auntie Bev. Learned something new today."

Beverly says tries to give a personal reply to the hundred of comments she's received and so far, everyone has been respectful. She adds, “No one would say anything nasty to their favorite Auntie, now would they?”

How long will she remain on the social media platform? She says they will have to kick her off because she's happy to be offering something of value that doesn't include singing, dancing, or cooking lessons.

http://www.beverlymahone.net