What was supposed to be something sweet quickly turned sour. People attempting an act of kindness are getting their deeds ruined by the selfish people of the internet. In the past month, a new trend on TikTok has risen, with people paying it forward in the baby aisle of grocery stores, surprising parents who buy items such as diapers and formula with a little gift in their purchase.
On September 2, 2024, TikToker “Denaeshagonzalez” posted a video to her page depicting a purse left behind in the baby section by some medicine, which captioned, “She deserved the purse,” assuming a mother gave up her potential purchase to buy something for their baby instead of going through with the purchase. This video quickly touched the hearts of many users on the app, causing the video to gain a whopping 25 million views and 4 million likes. The comments contained overwhelming support for parents who sacrifice daily to support their children. The comments consisted of “the sacrifices of a mother. I felt this.” ” I wanted that blouse, but she looks so cute in her bluey dress.”, “It makes me sad to think how much my mother probably gave up for me.” So, not only were parents quick to comment on the video, but also children thought about how much their parents had given up so they could have what they wanted.
As the video gained more traction, people began using it as an opportunity to spread kindness. TikTokers documented themselves secretly putting cash in baby items to pay off the purchase. This was simple: leaving a token of appreciation for parents who might be feeling overwhelmed with all their duties. One of the more successful TikTok users on the app “Tabithaswatosh” posted a video to her 14.5 million followers, taking part in the trend in target. Although many favor this trend of encouraging selfless acts, others aren’t into the idea of making a video just to gain likes and views rather than doing it out of the goodness of their hearts.
Nothing good lasts forever, so it was inevitable that people would change their outlook on this trend. People then selfishly started ripping open boxes and containers where the money would be hidden. People foolishly record themselves looking for money and posting it as well. “Mamaakayy4” reposted someone’s video of them looking for money in the baby aisle; the original video was quickly deleted due to the backlash; she explains how it’s hard to do nice things for people because of immature people, like the one shown at the beginning, ruin it for everyone causing discouragement to the trend because people want the money to go to deserving parents, not strangers who steal it.
Sometimes, the internet can be a kind environment where people support each other, and good get spread around, but then we get people who ruin it for the rest because they have no sense of awareness. However, good always wins, and the people who hide money and successfully make it to the parents are the type of people we need more during these times.
