7 TikTok accounts to follow for a quick shot of joy
WHAT if TikTok’s algorithm is a little too good? Anyone who regularly uses the short-video app is used to a never-ending, addictive stream of the exact kind of content they crave, which is why it’s one of the most popular social media platforms on the market. But it also makes you wonder: What are you not seeing?
Navigating away from the trusty “for you” page can feel like being stranded in the ocean without a map. There’s a crushing number of TikToks to sort through.
So for both newcomers and veterans alike, The Washington Post has compiled a list of seven accounts that might put a little extra spring in your step.
Stage Door Johnny tackles the English language (@ stage_door_johnny)
“So we’ve got ‘cats.’ What about more than one dog?” “Dogs.”
“Going with the ‘s’ again. Consistent. And what about mouse? Mouses?”
“Mice.”
“What?”
“Mice.”
So begins one of Richard Poynton’s signature TikToks, which moves on to the paradox that is “moose” and “moose” vs. “goose” and “geese.” Posting under his internet moniker Stage Door Johnny, the 41-yearold Staffordshire, England, resident uses the platform to humorously deconstruct the English language, pointing out all its absurdities along the way. Each TikTok finds the “Namer” coming up with English words, while his helper grows increasingly befuddled. Topics have included the names of dried fruits (why did plums get “prune,” when they’re all technically pruny?); the confusion that is “street” vs. “road” vs. “avenue” vs. “lane” vs. “boulevard”; and words with multiple meanings, like “draw” (which occurs when the “Namer is in a mood.”)
“As English is my native language, I hadn’t really considered the confusing, sometimes contradictory nature of it,” Poynton said, adding that his 1 million followers include ESL speakers and “educators who’ve had to attempt to teach irregular verbs to elementary school kids and have experienced the same frustrations as my characters.”
Khaby Lame battles life hacks (@khaby.lame)
The internet is full of “life hacks,” little tricks to make everyday tasks easier. But what if those hacks actually complicate simple tasks? That’s where Khaby Lame comes in. He began the pandemic as a factory worker in northern Italy but a layoff soon found the Senegalese 21-year-old making TikToks. He said his goal is “to first, have fun for me, and second, give fun to everyone else.”
To do that, he pokes holes in absurd internet trends. Why, he wonders in one TikTok, cut the ends of a banana to more easily peel it when you can just . . . peel it? So he does just that and offers his signature palms-up gesture, as if to say, “Uhh, see? It’s not that hard.” Clearly he’s tapped into something. Lame is one of the fastest-growing creators on the app and, at more than 80 million followers, he’s poised to potentially surpass its reigning queen, Charlie D’Amelio.
Pups Casper and Daisy just try to get through the day (@ casp47)
The best TikTok accounts manage to create an entire world with a series of short videos. That’s exactly what Ryan Dykta has done - only his world is populated by pups. There’s the simple-minded but hugehearted collie Casper, a “failed sheepdog,” and the sometimes foul-mouthed (but always adorable) fluff ball Daisy, who has a penchant for pranking her brother. Occasionally another pup will join, but the highlights are the frequent occasions when Daisy convinces Casper to dress up in ridiculous costumes.
“I see so much negativity and hate on social media that I wanted to make something good, funny and lighthearted as well as putting a kind message out there, said Dykta, who lives in Stafford, England. “The support I’ve had is incredible. Not much hate at all. People are so kind when kindness is shown to them.”
The account led to a children’s book, featuring both Casper and Daisy. Presumably Dykta voices both pups, but in response to fans asking to hear Casper’s “real voice,” he made a TikTok in which the pup just repeatedly says the word “woof” (after sadly moaning “byeeee voice.”)
Erin Miller mines millennial nostalgia (@ overthemoonfaraway)
Not every account is for everyone, and Erin Miller’s has a particular audience in its crosshairs: anyone born between 1981 and 1996. That’s right: TikTok isn’t just for Gen Z these days. The 31-year-old San Diegan showcases her reporter’s eye for detail and comedian’s knack for the absurd by highlighting (and gently mocking) classic millennial experiences. Whether you enjoyed listening to nature sounds at a Border’s sample station in 2004 or dying from dysentery while playing “Oregon Trail” in third grade, Miller’s made a TikTok for you.
There’s a certain joy to “making people laugh, unlocking forgotten memories, strangers reminiscing in my comments,” she said. “Just bringing millennials together has truly been amazing and so much fun.”
Jason Banks imagines a dimwitted son (@ jasonbankscomedy)
When the pandemic put his stand-up career on ice, Jason Banks began trying out different bits on TikTok - scoring a massive viral hit when he first imagined the character of Derek, his dimwitted son. Now, the 38-year-old Reynoldsburg, Ohio, comedian makes three to five videos a day in which he has to explain the basics to his (fictional) boy. In one, Banks asks Derek how he did on a recent science test only to learn that the boy thought the “The Lion King” was real.
“It has been overwhelming at times, but I enjoy every minute,” Banks said. His TikToks, which can get a little raunchy, now regularly attract more than a million views. He’s often stopped on the streets of his hometown and has managed to parlay his pandemic activity into headliner slots at major comedy clubs.
Jax reimagines classic tunes - from their subjects’ perspectives (@ jaxwritessongs)
Ever wonder what Wheatus’s “Teenage Dirtbag” might sound like from Noel’s perspective? How about Adele’s “Someone Like You” from her ex’s perspective? Curious how Avril Lavigne’s “Sk8er Boi” is doing 18 years later? (Spoiler alert: He’s still a Sk8er Boi, and now he’s unemployed.)
Pop artist Jax has the answers. “One night I said screw it, I’m just going to just be my nerdy, dadjoke-telling self,” Jax explained. “So I put on a bathrobe, wrapped my head in a towel, channeled my Long Island mom and wrote ‘Stacy’s Mom’ from the point of view of Stacy’s Mom.” With a carefully tuned ear for mimicry and an incisive wit, she turns classic earworms on their heads, detailing everything from the Yelp review for “Hotel California” to, how the guy stuck behind Olivia Rodrigo in “Driver’s License” feels. As fun as her account is, it almost didn’t exist at all. The 25-year-old Los Angeles-based singer battled cancer above her vocal cords twice.
Chipmunks stuff their cheeks (@chipmunksoftiktok)
Do you like watching chipmunks stuff their chubby with nuts and acorns? In other words, are you a sentimental human being with a warm, beating heart? Great! This one is for you. Brad Zimerman, the 52-year-old St. Louis Kenpo karate instructor helming the account, spotted a chipmunk on his bird feeder about four years ago. With a hearty assist from treats, he spent four to five hours bonding with it each day and named his furry friend Stinky.
Now he’s buddies with a stable of 20 timber tigers - all of whom, Zimerman said, know their names - that he features on his TikTok. “I saw that the relationship I shared with my chipmunks was unlike any other person on social media, so I decided to put them online,” he said. “I now have dedicated my life to showing the whole world how amazing chipmunks are.” — The Washington Post