Some of the most beloved stars on social media right now are not teenagers or reality TV alumni. They are grandmothers, and in some cases great-grandmothers, in their 70s, 80s and 90s. A new BBC News feature published this week profiles four of them, and their stories explain why so many younger viewers can’t stop watching.

Grandma Droniak, 96, and the party that went viral

Lillian Droniak, known to her fans as Grandma Droniak, has 15 million followers. The 96-year-old from Connecticut went viral in June after claiming her retirement home had threatened to evict her for throwing parties. According to the BBC, the home later confirmed the threat but reached a settlement that allowed her to keep partying, as long as she does not supply alcoholic drinks.

Her grandson started helping her post videos in 2020, initially out of boredom, and he now edits her content.

“I always knew I had it in me to be famous, I just didn’t think it would happen in my 90s,” she told the BBC. Her message to younger viewers is simple: “They think old people just sit and stare at a wall but I’m showing it’s not that bad to get old. We embrace it, can still have fun and I’m still partying and going out sometimes.”

One funny twist: she says her fame feels different inside the retirement home. “They don’t get it as they don’t go on TikTok.”

Viv Truran, 82, and the joy of a colorful outfit

In Cardiff, Wales, 82-year-old Viv Truran started posting on Instagram after losing her husband, when a neighbor suggested filming her colorful outfits. She now has more than 800,000 followers and makes two videos a day from a bedroom she turned into a studio, showing off her clothes, her 22 pairs of glasses and two drawers full of scarves.

She is disciplined about it. “I get up in the morning, I never come downstairs until I’ve done my morning video and I’m very strict about that,” she said. She even tracks her followers and views in a notebook and is now on book five.

Strangers regularly stop her, many of them women in their 20s and 30s who tell her they are “frightened of getting old.” Her videos, she says, show them “it’s not that bad.”

Nonna Gracie, 85, and recipes made for decades

Grace Geramita, 85, known as Nonna Gracie and nicknamed “the internet’s Italian grandma,” has millions of followers who watch her cook recipes she has made for decades. She moved from Italy to the U.S. at 18 and worked multiple jobs to support her two daughters.

Her grandson Matthew suggested filming her cooking six years ago. She was reluctant at first because she knew nothing about social media, but the videos took off. “I always cry when people send me messages from all around the world,” she told the BBC. For her, the content is about more than food: she wants to pass on the tradition of bringing family together around the table.

Barbara Costello, 77, the “mom I never had”

Barbara Costello, a 77-year-old former teacher, shares cooking, cleaning and homemaking skills through her “Brunch with Babs” accounts. Many followers tell her she reminds them of their own mothers and grandmothers, and some call her “the mom I never had.”

She recalled a university student approaching her in a restaurant to say her cookbook had helped her through her first year living on her own. Seeing former pupils at her book signings with their own children, she said, is “a full circle moment.”

Why the internet loves its grandmas

Naomi Baker of the agency We Are Social told the BBC that older creators often have “deeply established, highly loyal” communities and that their wholesome content can work as a “virtual grandma” for followers, offering “comfort in an uncertain world.”

That rings true. In a feed full of noise, these creators offer warmth, humor, practical skills and a reassuring message that getting older can still be full of fun and purpose. Their audiences, often decades younger, are not just watching for laughs. They are watching for a glimpse of a future that looks a lot less scary.

The takeaway

The grannies of TikTok and Instagram are proof that it is never too late to try something new, find an audience and make strangers around the world smile. Maybe call your own grandma this weekend, or better yet, ask her to teach you a recipe on camera.

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