Gen X Talks

About

Gen X Talks is an American TikTok account that was started in January 2021. The premise of the account involves a Gen Z kid asking his Gen X dad questions about current events and other topics. This premise uses generational tension as a plot point in general, contrasting Gen X, Gen Z, Millennial and Baby Boomer archetypes. Gen X Talks follows the same viral video formula as other video creators who harass their larger personality parents, making them the victims of constant video documentation, like Jackass's Bam Margera or TikTok's Tooturnttony, for example. The account has roughly 624,000 followers as of August 2021.

Online History

Gen X Talks posted its first video (shown below) on January 29th, 2021, under its original username @timewithmydad. Gen Z Kid explains on their website how he always wanted to be TikTok famous but wouldn't get many followers or engagement for two years of prior content.^[1] He thought of the Gen X Talks idea to exploit his father's large personality and willingness to share his wisdom. In only one week of posting, the account gained roughly 20,000 followers.^[2]

By April 9th, 2021, Gen X Talks had amassed roughly 200,000 followers,^[3] mostly due to an uptick in engagement on February 21st, 2021, when a TikTok post (shown below, left) gained over 1 million views after being featured on many people's "For You" pages. Another TikTok, posted on February 28th, 2021 (shown below, right), gained roughly 3.2 million views around the same time.

Gen X Talks began posting to YouTube^[4] in February 2021. The account began doing livestreams on TikTok around this time as well, posting their first, full-length livestream to YouTube on February 15th, 2021 (shown below). Gen X Talks would also begin posting to Instagram on March 20th, 2021.^[5]

Gen X Talks received its most amount of likes and views on a TikTok posted on July 28th, 2021.^[6] The TikTok (shown below) received roughly 2.6 million likes and roughly 18.2 million views over the course of one week. The TikTok's success, similar to the success of the account's content in general, relies heavily on the Gen X dad's irritability and the Gen Z kid's innocence, which the audience can relate to through their own cross-generational relationships in their own lives, whether that makes them a Gen Z parent with a Gen X kid, a Gen Z kid with a Gen X parent or a voyeuristic Millennial who wants to be part of it.

Search Interest

External References