Its not just us Olds who are obsessed with the upcoming election. The kids are interested too, even the ones who are too young to vote, but theyre way less likely to get their information from Fox News or CNN, so this week Im taking a look at how the youngins are seeing our upcoming election/national nightmare.
TikTok to the polls
While the drama of the day for many of TikToks users is no more weighty than a woman charging too much for balloon arrangements, a sizable chunk of the video-sharing services users are tuned into politics. Hashtags and grassroots efforts to turn out the vote, like Tok The Vote, feature tons of politically charged videos that have been viewed over 21 million times. (Dont look if you bleed red; the kids want Biden by an almost ridiculous margin.) TikTok itself has set up a slew of in-app resources to help its users get registered and get voting.
While earnest online activism and voter guides to congressional candidates are great, political TikTok really shines when it makes fun of how embarrassing old people are. Check out #TrumpDance to see what I mean.
This week in video games: AOC and Among Us take over Twitch
Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez hit game-streaming site Twitch the other day to play a few casual rounds of Among Us and quickly drew over 400,000 views to her livestream and over five million views (and counting) total. AOC and her congress-pal Ilhan Omar werent just killing time; they were on a mission to get the kids to vote. By all accounts, AOC was good at the game, didnt make it weird, and put on an amusing stream.
I have two take-aways from the experiment. First, if AOC convinces enough previously uninterested young people vote, Among Us and Twitch could sway the election. Secondly, Among Us is probably over: When congresspeople (even the young, hipster ones) are using your game for political purposes, its likely the cool kids have already found the next-big-thing.
Viral video of the week: Borat meets David Dobrik
This weeks viral video features Borat, but its not the nightmarish scene in his new movie where Rudy Guiliani tucks in his shirt in front of Borats daughter. Instead, the kids are sharing a YouTube vid where insanely popular online-star David Dobrik introduces Borat around to his pals. The video, which features Borat wrecking Dobriks Tesla and an expensive gumball machine, is a look at how movies are promoted to kids these days. Over four million people have watched the clip since it was posted on October 21, a number that dwarfs any appearance on a late-night talk show.
This week in movies: The Witches
The Witches is a perfect palate cleanser for kids and adults who are burnt-out on the current political blood bowl. Directed by movie master Robert Zemeckis and based on a story by the great Roald Dahl, The Witches stars Anne Hathaway, Octavia Spencer, and Stanley Tucci. Like the best of Dahls stories, The Witches doesnt nerf the horror and pain of life to protect the kids who watchthe witches are legit scary and the danger and pain feel real and visceral. Its a must-watch, and you can watch it now on HBO Max.read more
The Out-of-Touch Adults’ Guide to Kid Culture: Election Time
