Senior living TikTok star proves there's life after 80 with hilarious skits
The 85-year-old is responsible for over 4 million views and counting.
Most creators on TikTok are 18-24 years old, and a good chunk is even younger than that. Social media is definitely a young person's game. 85-year-old Nancy Weatherford never got the memo.
A resident at the Commonwealth Senior Living facility in Danville, Virginia, Nancy recently volunteered to be featured on the center's TikTok page. Over 4 million views later, she's been dubbed the 'TikTok Queen'. And she's exactly the influencer we all need right now.
It started with a funny video of Nancy and her fellow residents dancing to "Pretty Girls Walk" by Big Boss Vette.
@commonwealthsl Pretty girls walk like this at #CSLStratfordHouse 😍 #seniorlivingcommunity #prettygirlswalk
It was one of Commonwealth's first breakout video, racking up over 12,000 views.
Commenters were obsessed immediately. "I wish more facilities did this. They are so happy," wrote one user.
And then came this hilarious skit of Nancy "interrogating" fellow residents to find out who ate her powdered donuts! This one went over a million, and Commonwealth's follower count began to grow as people started to look forward to the residents' videos.
@commonwealthsl Don’t eat her powdered donuts #CSLStratfordHouse #welcomehome #seniorlivingcommunity #donuts
All in all, the mini-skits and dance routines put on by Nancy and her fellow Commonwealth residents have racked up over 4 million views.
“We call Nancy our little TikTok queen, because our first one went viral instantly,” Heather Dehart, Sales Director for Commonwealth Senior Living told WDBJ. “Now, we have so many followers, and they look forward to it."
The videos have such an infectious joy. So much of what's found on TikTok and other social media can feel hollow and fake. The videos made by the Commonwealth seniors are as authentic as it gets. Just a group of friends having a blast together, which, by the way, may be having an excellent effect on their physical health.
Bhere's a lot more to the videos than just the laughs and the big view counts.
Generating content for the TikTok account is bringing the residents together and giving them joy — regardless of if the videos go viral or not.
“It gives them something to do. It gives them a purpose. When they have family members call from different states and say, ‘oh my goodness, I saw the fun you‘re having on Tiktok.’ It makes them then ask, ‘when are we doing the next one, because my family wants to know,” said Dehart.
Nancy was, understandably, apprehensive about moving into a senior living community ager her husband passed away. One of the most inspiring aspects of the videos is seeing how at home she and her friends feel there now.
Senior living centers, or nursing homes, don't always have the best reputation. They can be drab, lonely places. Depression is frighteningly common.
But it doesn't have to be that way.
“Being older is fun," Nancy says. "Maybe young people think, ‘ugh,’ but we have a lot of fun, too."