TikTok users, perhaps better known for doing weird dances and lip-syncing to songs most of us have never heard, have fallen in love with a 'lonely' old man who makes videos of himself making really simple cooking recipes.
Yep, that's quite a strange paragraph, but - rest assured - the story itself is heartwarming.
Basically, 81-year-old Stephen Austin - not to be confused with 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin - wanted to feel 'loved', so he started to record silly wee videos of himself called 'Cooking With Steve'.
Showing an uncanny knack for social media, especially given his age, he took his videos to TikTok, where he's become something of a viral sensation.
Advert
Austin, who lives in Dallas, is only knocking together stuff like microwave meals and pancakes, but the people are into it. His videos tend to get around 200,000 views and he's had 5.2m likes in total.
One video, of the elderly man putting butter and peach preserve onto some frozen biscuits (which doesn't sound great, let's be honest) has had 8.5m views and 1.7m likes.
Not bad, not at all.
When he was asked about his later life social media career by TODAY, Austin explained: "As I have no children or grandkids, this has been such a joy to me and it makes me feel not so alone and loved.
"Most of the comments say they love me and I'm the best thing on TikTok. I feel very blessed."
He's even started to make a couple of quid out of it. His nephew explained to him how Venmo works, and now some folks send him a small bit of cash, or a bit of a present.
This ain't his first online rodeo, so to speak. He's got a YouTube account with 5,000 subscribers, he's previously used Vine, and uses Instagram, too.
He continued: "I'm self-taught as far as doing my video work on the camera and lighting and such and understanding how to do TikTok. If I don't understand something I Google it or see if a video on YouTube has a subject on it."
Stephen's family actually has a background in show business, as his grandfather was an entertainer. That must be why he's such a natural in front of the camera.
He explained that most of his videos aren't planned. He just switches on the camera and then starts talking.
Hey, the people seem to like what he's doing, so there's no reason to change the formula.
Perhaps a bit less of the buttery biscuits with peach, though. Nobody needs that.
Featured Image Credit: Kennedy News and MediaTopics: Interesting, US News, Weird