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Meet the "Batman" of military TikTok cringe
The military is notoriously a very judgmental place. A badge, or device, being slightly off-center might be met with bile and vitriol (and perhaps some insightful observations regarding one’s mother.)
In contrast, imagine going into a coffee shop and hearing the assistant manager berating the barista for their name tag being an eighth of an inch high. Along with a full compliment of knife hands and spittle flying from their lip as they enunciate every character flaw perceived or otherwise. Psychotic right? Apparently not in the military; that’s just Tuesday.
Things have not changed with the evolution of social media. Out of all the platforms, TikTok receives the most criticism for “clout-chasing” service members. Scores of younger troops have taken to making videos of dances and comedy skits on the platform. Much to the chagrin and dismay of many peers. To be fair, most don’t care about the average video, as long as the creator is not in uniform while they film it.
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The fight to restore order
Enter famed social media channel TikTokBoots. In an exclusive interview with Pop Smoke Media, TikTokBoots (TTB) gave us some insight on how they came into existence, and their purpose in the “MilTok” space.
The anonymous creator of TTB told us the idea was to bring more awareness to younger troops. Particularly, of how they are perceived by the outside world. Furthermore, that the uniform is meant to be respected, and not used as a means to increase views on a dance video.
Screenshot of TTB’s Instagram
Originally, they included captions detailing why they took qualms with a particular video. However, that was sometimes considered “bullying” by social media. Thus, leading to their page being deleted multiple times. Nevertheless, they persevered in their mission. Now, TTB posts videos with a neutral caption and let the comments section be the judge.
“We want these people to hesitate before hitting that post button,” stated TTB. “We want them to wonder how will this go over if it ends up on TikTokBoots. That’s all, just that momentary pause of reflection.”
Furthermore, TTB tells us this was never meant to be malicious. It’s simply a checks and balance system to those with egos inflated by the notoriety they receive while posting military “cringe.”
When asked how they define “cringe,” TTB answered that it is mostly an appearance of being self-serving, or ignorant to the situation around them. Also saying with a laugh, “You know it when you see it.”
“Like do you really need to be in uniform for this video?” TTB elaborated by stating, “It’s different if you’re recording field training, but standing in a mirror lip-syncing doesn’t require you to be in uniform.”
A force for good
TTB was not content with just being an ever-looming consequence to posting cringe. They also wanted to post content that “hits the mark” when it comes to representing the military experience. They are well known for peppering feel good videos, along with the cringe.
Love them or hate them, TTB is a vigilant eye in the darkest ends of TikTok. Always waiting to swoop down and inform a young PFC of how dumb they look in the video they just posted.
