For the Baby Boomers and even some of the Gen X population, no I’m not obsessed with clocks.
And to the Millennials, I’m not talking about Ke$ha’s famous hit.
No, I’ve joined the Gen Z camp who use the social media app TikTok.
For those who have never heard of this experience, here’s the lowdown: users film videos of themselves singing, lip-syncing or acting out comedy sketches, up to 15 seconds long, using a database of songs, effects, or sound bites.
Have you ever walked through a shopping centre and noticed teenagers randomly breaking out into quick spasmodic movements and walking on like nothing happened?
While some might not look like it, they’re actually TikTok dance routines.
Every few months, there is a new viral dance craze, which is also known as ‘hitting the woah’.
For those not versed in this phenomenon, ‘hitting the woah’ is when a dancer makes a quick, small circular motion with their fists and leans into a freeze position when the beat drops in a song.
There are actually instructional videos on the internet showing you how to execute the move.
My children taught me a dance move to ‘The Box’ (you know, that annoying song that sounds like someone using a rusty swing?)
While it’s only a 10-second routine, I’m ashamed to say it took longer than expected to learn it.
And even when I did, the girls said I looked like a window washer, among other unflattering names.
However, a few days on and I reckon I’ve nailed the move. Because I seem to be getting nothing but smiles when I accidentally ‘hit the woah’ down the street. On more than one occasion.
Just a warning though: don’t do it while driving. When the song came on the radio the other day, my body just automatically moved with the music and I almost crashed into the gutter.
Now, if you’re not a trained dancer like myself, don’t fear.
Because there’s singing too.
Think karaoke for the digital age. And it’s on your smartphone so you can do it anywhere, any time.
And you don’t need to fight over the microphone.
Now while you can sing with your own voice, most people lip-sync which, for me and others in a 100m radius of me, is a much a better idea.
The only thing left for me now is to try the comedy sketch.
However, my children seem to think I’ve already done that, several times over.