TikTok isn't just for the young

TikTok is often misunderstood. People think of the wildly popular (but controversial) short form video based social platform as place for those funky dances and oddly satisfying videos, many of them produced by youngish adults and teens.

For sure, you will find plenty of them on TikTok. What you will also find, however, are lots of TikTok viewers and creators who defy the stereotypes around age, some well into their 70s on up.

As many of you know, I recently took on a full-time gig as a contributing writer at AARP. And my first assignment was to write this primer on TikTok for older folks, people who may be curious about the social network but largely steered clear, perhaps because they did think it was reserved for the young or perhaps because of TikTok's Chinese corporate ownership.

Recent stats from App Ape (via Statista) show that more than 1 in 10 TikTok users are over the age of 50. Some join to bond with their kids and grandkids. Some because they are lonely or bored. But undoubtedly some also come for the music, the comedy, the fashion, the recipes, the how-to videos, and, yes, to promote a cause or business.

So give it a read and then decide for yourself whether TikTok is for you: as a viewer, and just maybe as someone who can draw eyeballs to your own short form videos.

Email: edbaig@gmail.com; ebaig@aarp.org; Follow @edbaig on Twitter