'Silver Influencer' has taken TikTok and Instagram by storm

Eighty-one-year-old Viv Truran may be very explicit about how she takes her images.

“We do it socially in portraiture,” she says.

Viv is embracing life as an internet style content material creator, who commonly goes viral, and is a part of a rising variety of girls turning to Instagram and TikTok to precise themselves in later life.

She mentioned, “I don't mind being called 'silver surfer' or 'silver influencer'. I would accept it.”

“Can you believe over five million people watched me? I can't get over it.”

The Cardiff-born and raised content material creator, with virtually 300,000 followers on Instagram, shares each day movies of her outfits and styling suggestions.

His followers are from everywhere in the world and he mentioned their ages fluctuate from individuals of their 20s to over 65 years outdated.

“I love the youth because they want me to be their grandmother.”

Viv mentioned that when she obtained feedback on her posts asking the place her garments got here from, she turned “for want of a better word, an influencer”.

After a profession that included stints within the civil service and British Telecom, Viv turned a “Del boy on legs” in her late 40s, as a “wheeling and dealing” antiques vendor.

But what does she suppose lies on the root of her success in her “third career”?

“I think people want authenticity and I think, I hope, I'm authentic. What you see is what you get.”

Sherry Grossi, 81, of North Carolina, US, tries to offer “a lot of encouragement” to her almost 130,000 followers on Instagram and 30,000 on TikTok.

“I think as women get older, they fall into a certain category and you should slow down and you shouldn't do this or that and, to me, that's completely wrong.”

The businesswoman, mom and grandmother is happy to see the way in which social media embraces individuals in later life and she or he's decided to show to older people who they shouldn't permit anybody to place them into classes.

“I see a variety of older influencers. People are considering 80 is the brand new 60, and 60 is the brand new 40.

“If I can do it at 80, anyone can do it.”

National Statistical Office The variety of individuals aged 65 and over is projected to extend throughout the UK by mid-2024.

Professor Ellery Rozier of Cardiff University Business School mentioned it was no shock to see altering demographics on social media, including that there had been a “largely noticeable shift” within the age of individuals shaping style and wonder content material on-line.

“For a long time, social media has been dominated by young creators, but now we're seeing older influencers,” he mentioned.

He mentioned that they had been common as a result of they created content material that they knew their followers would take pleasure in.

Ryan Davies, 58, from Cwmbran, Torfaen, mentioned she was as soon as uncovered to the concept many ladies grow to be “invisible” after they attain center age and admitted she “felt that way”.

But when the mom of two began sharing her outfits on TikTok, she gained greater than 170,000 followers.

“It's really important for me to show other women my age that it's still okay to take up space, it's still okay to take care of yourself and do your best.”

Her most profitable movies are when she is “showing the reality” of life and recording herself with out make-up and with pure hair.

“Right from the beginning I noticed that the majority girls needed to see themselves represented, not only a absolutely dressed girl with an Aga and kitchen island within the background.

“They needed to see somebody who regarded like them.

“When you're in your 50s, you don't always want to see people in their 20s wearing makeup, because what works for them doesn't work for my age group.”

Sali Hughes, magnificence columnist for The Guardian, shouldn’t be shocked to see the rise of the “silver influencer” as manufacturers have spent years “marketing aggressively at young people who have no money” to purchase their merchandise.

But now they’re waking as much as the truth that age variety is important for fulfillment as a result of older individuals usually have extra money than youthful shoppers.

“If you're so obsessed with youth, unfortunately, it's going to bite you in the butt.”

When Valerie Mackey, 62, joined Instagram, she discovered it tough to search out style content material creators who regarded like her, so she “just started posting my outfits.”

Eight years later and with over a million followers, the mom of two from the Scottish Highlands is commonly invited to work with high-end manufacturers resembling Armani and L'Oréal.

She mentioned: “With social media, it doesn't matter how old you are, where you live, the opportunity is there if you want to go for it.”