TikTok: Aussie parents sharing ‘real life’ posts gain popularity on social media

More Aussie mums and dads are using social media to connect with others by having a laugh, dancing or offering life hacks — and their no-glamour approach is gathering lots of followers.

Sydney mum Amy Gerard knows all too well that Instagram is not an accurate reflection of real life.

The mother-of-three loathes the word “influencer”, but now boasting more than 106,000 followers, she inadvertently became one when she started posting about real life on social media.

Messy life. The imperfect, busy, frustrating, joyful life of a parent.

She’s since turned her popularity into a podcast called Beyond The Likes, which shot to No.1 on Apple Podcast charts a day after its recent launch, and says parents are craving authenticity – which is exactly what she has given them over the past six years, while raising Charli, 5, Bobby, 4, and Kobe, 2.

Amy Gerard shares her experiences as a mum to (from left) Bobby, 4, Kobe, 2, and Charli, 5, on social media. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

“Having three kids under four hit me like a brick to the face,” the Bangor 35-year-old tells Sydney Weekend.

“I started out just sharing my experiences as a mum on Instagram like everyone does, but I went for a more realistic approach and wrote about the stuff no one warned me about.

“I share the highs and lows and everything in between.

“I’m not going to pretend I live this glamorous Instagram life. I get my arse handed to me daily, negotiate hourly with tiny dictators and fantasise about burning all the Lego every night while the kids are asleep.”

After grappling through Covid lockdowns and torturous home schooling while working from home, a desperate parenting community needs the connection they get through social media and podcasts such as hers, more than ever before, Gerard says.

“I loved being a mum, but man, did I struggle – it is such a shock to the system,” she says.

“It’s a shock to everybody’s system but I think people have this underlying guilt, so they don’t want to speak up and say that it’s hard.

“From the outside, before you have children, you think it’s meant to be smiles and beautiful cuddles and hand-holding. Yes, they are adorable and you love them with all your heart and they change your life for the better. But it’s also a relentless, beast of a journey and you have to learn how to function on barely any sleep.”

Gerard started her warts-and-all account of raising a young family as a mechanism of coping, and in doing so found herself organically attracting a following.

“They follow me for reassurance that they’re not alone,” she says.

“I never set out to be what you would call an influencer, and I hate that word.

“I just did what every other mother did, and I probably shared a bit more than what the average Joe Blow would, and when Instagram stories came out, I could capture a little bit of my day and I might put up 20 stories, and you might feel like you’ve come along with me for a few minutes.

“I’m not a celebrity, I don’t have a famous husband, I don’t have this crazy, beautiful job. I guess my following has purely been built on my personality and maybe my sense of humour.”

Influencer mum Amy Gerard has also launched a new podcast, Beyond the Likes.

A milestone such as moving a toddler out of their cot is a rollercoaster that any parent who has gone through it will recognise but Gerard laughed her way through the sleepless nights for her fans to relate to.

“I think we’re keeping it lighthearted on the ’gram and in my own head it also helps me to keep calm myself,” she says.

“If I didn’t bring people along for the ride and make them laugh and show them the funny side of it, I would probably be so worked up and annoyed at the situation, so it helps put things into perspective for me as well, and plays a part in keeping me sane.

“And the women who have messaged me, and the relationships I’ve formed are amazing and so supportive.

“For any parent, I think it is so important to have a support network when you have a child, and whether they’re your real-life friends or people you follow on Instagram, they will lift you up and make you feel normal, no matter what you’re going through.”

DADDY-DAUGHTER DOUBLE ACT

For 41-year-old voice actor Ben Tate, building a following on TikTok and Instagram has brought with it a welcome by-product – spending more quality time with his six-year-old daughter, Zara.

The pair have more than 1.2 million followers on TikTok under their handle @benandzara where fans can’t get enough of the daddy-daughter dynamic, their sketches, dance routines and lip-synching challenges — and that’s all just in the past year.

“We were at home during lockdown last year. I’d heard about TikTok and thought I would download it, so Zara and I started filming lip-synching to songs that were on the app,” the North Sydney dad says.

“It was a fun way to spend time with each other having a laugh, and music is something Zara absolutely loves.

“I thought ‘what the heck’, I’ll put one video out to the public and it went viral.

“People started asking for requests and we kept going and having fun with it.”

Tate believes audiences have connected with the pair because they offer some laughter and lightness in uncertain times.

Ben Tate and his daughter Zara have more than 1.2 million followers on TikTok.

“It seems that in this current climate people are looking for connection … day to day we are more on our devices,” he says.

“For us personally, TikTok gives us a way to connect with others through creativity and silliness. At times it can provide opportunities to have a laugh or cry about the complexities of parenting with other parents.

“I feel our audience come to our page to laugh and (for) a bit of escapism.

“Personally, when I’ve seen others on TikTok creating entertaining content – knowing they too are in lockdown, it has lifted my spirits and inspired us to do the same.”

Lockdowns changed his perspective in terms of prioritising more time with family, allowing Tate to connect and be more present as a parent.

“Also it’s been great for my wife and I as we really enjoy coming up with fun concepts and then seeing them come to life.”

Having just started a new job as a traffic reporter, Tate will continue doing voiceovers, and with their younger son starting school this year, he predicts more sport and extra curricular activities for both kids as well as TikTok videos, so the family juggle will continue.

“Spending time together is something you can’t get back and we now have these videos as a memento, which is priceless,” he says.

TikTok general manager Lee Hunter agrees the platform has become a place where parents, grandparents and caregivers from around the country share the joys, the frustrations and the humour of family life in a way that is authentic and real.

“Local mums and dads are finding communities and connections with parents everywhere, and some are even making careers out of the creative outlet they’ve found on TikTok,” he says. “It’s exciting to see such diverse and relatable takes on parenting. Not just the wins, but the messy bits as well.”

THAT WOMAN FROM TIKTOK

Wagga Wagga optical assistant Tig Powell, 31, was convinced TikTok was just an app for teenagers, so when a friend recommended she try it, she put it off for months, feeling she was ‘too old’.

Then, in March of 2020, as the first Covid lockdown hit, boredom got the better of her and she decided to check it out.

More than 24,500 followers later, she gets stopped in the street as ‘that woman from TikTok’ – and her six-year-old daughter Aleea is in awe of her ‘famous’ mum.

“I was instantly hooked,” the single mum admits.

“I’ve always liked making little videos all throughout my teens and 20s to make people laugh, and in recent years I’d often post funny little skits on my Instagram. In all honesty it’s been pretty amazing – many highs and only very few lows for me which I’m very grateful for.

“I’ve felt so much love and positivity from total strangers and I never expected that.

Single mum Tig Powell has gained a following on TikTok.

“Having people stop me in the street and recognising me from TikTok was the biggest shock for me. I’m just little old Tig who was born and raised in Wagga, and now I’m getting people wanting to meet me and take pics with me all because of my TikTok – it’s wild.

“It makes me so happy that I’ve somehow connected with so many people and made them smile.”

Powell’s fun and positive videos encourage and motivate other women, and her ‘brutally honest’ approach to life with ADD and raising her daughter has resonated.

“Maybe because I don’t take myself too seriously,” she says.

“I talk honestly about what I feel and think – even if I look a bit silly in the process. Sometimes I’m fun, silly and sarcastic, and sometimes I show my more serious or vulnerable side. I guess people may connect with me because I don’t try to be someone I’m not.

“I’m a single parent trying to be the best mum I can be, while juggling all the crazy things life throws at me.

“I’m not that super organised mum who is a fabulous cook. I’m not the mum who remembers everyone’s birthdays or who has control over the constant clothes washing.

“I have ADHD which makes life both very fun and frustrating at times, but life is never dull and I always try to keep a positive, fun attitude. Maybe my followers can relate to some of that.”

Tig Powell is very honest about her life as a single mum who has ADHD.

A single video can take Powell anywhere from 10 minutes to three days to pull together, and Aleea loves them as much as her mum.

“There are some kick-arse parents – and their kids – out there who make me smile and laugh daily,” she says.

“It’s a good reminder that we don’t need to be perfect parents.

“It’s refreshing when you see content of parents out there just doing their best and
being able to laugh it off when things don’t go to plan.”

Usually a busy and active person, Powell says lockdown made her feel anxious about going into the world again and leaving the little safe space she’d created at home with her daughter – so she did a TikTok about it, and the feedback amazed her.

“It opened my eyes to how people are really feeling,” she says.

“So many people felt the same as I did, and had noticed a change in themselves because of the lockdowns.

“So being able to have discussions about that on TikTok, and seeing relatable and honest content on this matter really helps people feel understood and not so alone.”

Powell is adamant TikTok is an app for everyone.

“Singles, couples, people of all genders, races, and sexual orientations, teens, people in their 20s, 30s, 40s all the way to 90s and 100s,” she says.

“Whether you’re someone who makes content or someone who likes to watch content, it certainly can bring some joy to people’s lives.

“I love the diversity, too. I love that it’s not just the pretty perfect models who do well on TikTok. It’s such a wide range of people who are being seen and loved from all over the world just for being themselves.

“I love that every day people like myself are making people laugh and smile – and I learn something every day on TikTok.”

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