TikTokTikTok has become a home for creators to celebrate their talents and share their love for their community and family. Through our Creator Spotlight Series, an ongoing series highlighting amazing creatives, we get to showcase some of the standout talent we see doing this on the platform each day.
Next up in the series is @dadlifejason. As the patriarch of a multiracial family, he uses his platform to share family moments and experiences. For Jason, it's important to show the love and tenderness of fatherhood and parenting in the Black community. From singing popular songs with his children through his Talk Box to sharing the heartwarming interactions he has with his family, Jason shows all the positive moments he has as a parent and brings joy to everyone who watches his videos. Check out more from Jason below, where he shares his advice for new creators and discussed what drives him to create heartwarming content each day!
How did you get started creating on TikTok, and what was the first TikTok video you shared/published?
I first got started on TikTok about two years ago, just trying to understand the lingo of the students I was working with as a special education teacher’s aide.
Why do you think TikTok is the right platform for your content or why do you continue to create and share on TikTok?
TikTok is the right platform for me because it helps me find my audience. It also helps my audience find me and share the positivity.
What is your favorite TikTok you have made to date and why?
My favorite TikTok that I’ve made so far is the one where I sing “before you go” with my daughter falling asleep in my arms because millions of people connected with us in that tender moment.
What lights a fire in you?
What lights a fire in me is seeing people become a community when they are perfect strangers otherwise. They have been able to find things within each other that are so common that they see themselves in each other and can come together and become almost a family. Right here on TikTok, I have seen it happen so many times. We find our audience. That lights a fire in me because there are people out there that want to know about me, that want to see what I can do. And there are people out there that I want to see and I want to be inspired by and it's great that this can happen here on TikTok.
Any advice for new creators?
My advice is to be consistent and positive in what you do. Have grace for yourself as you share your authentic self. Your audience will find you.
What does being a Trailblazer mean to you?
Being a Trailblazer means being intentional and moving with the purpose of adding value and displaying the worth of the culture that we are a part of. It means to embody positive progress.
Who are some Black creators that everyone should be following/watching?
When I think about Black creators on TikTok that everyone should be watching and looking out for, I have a couple of names. @kentai.haven is a creator that uses measurements and mathematics to try and figure out people's heights and the speed that things are going. To see him operating on a Tony Stark level of genius, it inspires not only me but the younger ones coming up that, hey, it's not just school and math on a paper – you can actually solve real world problems with your STEM skills and he is showing that in spades. He is amazing, and one day I hope he can guess my height. The next person is @wisdm8, his fashion sense from thrifting all the way to high end fashion has been excellent all the way across. It is really inspiring to see somebody crack open a closet and try to find fashion that relates to an emoji, and he does it and I'm like "gosh, I want to look that good one day!" I can see him dressing the stars in the near future. The last one is not so much a large creator, her name is @ourmatchedhearts, just to see her journey through foster care and adoption has been really inspiring. The softness of her heart towards the children and the softness of her heart as she responds to people asking the questions that they ask is really inspiring. It helps me to know that when people ask me questions, I need to respond in the kindest possible manner because people are just curious and want to know.
