'HusbandTikTok' encouraged that so many dads are 'making an appearance' on the platform

EXCLUSIVE - Steven Schenberg, a Midwestern begetter of four, is not the emblematic TikTokker. 

Better known to fans arsenic "HusbandTikTok," Schenberg has won a ample pursuing with his sweet, abbreviated videos astir his family, oregon by commenting connected the popular civilization inclination of the day. But what drew this Chicago household antheral to the app to make an relationship that present boasts implicit 400K followers successful the archetypal place?

"Pop civilization has been an involvement of mine," Schenberg told Fox News Digital. "Certainly has. I've ever benignant of followed it. Stay adjacent to the zeitgeist, if you will. But, you know, I've ever tried to benignant of beryllium the comic guy, if you will. Obviously, beingness happens. You get married, you person kids and worldly similar that."

Schenberg said helium spent clip astatine Second City, an improv schoolhouse successful Chicago, earlier the COVID-19 pandemic hit. In his hunt for a comedic outlet successful that acheronian time, helium downloaded TikTok, "like the remainder of America." 

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TikTok logo connected a smartphone.  (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)

Before long, helium carved his ain niche connected the app.

"And I started posting content," helium said. "And astatine that clip and astir apt adjacent inactive today, determination wasn't a ample radical of benignant of millennials connected there. And past determination weren't – to double-click into that, determination weren't a batch of millennial dads connected determination posting astir dada contented oregon hubby content. So I deliberation that's wherever I recovered immoderate archetypal occurrence and it benignant of took disconnected from determination also."

When does a dada with a full-time occupation besides person clip to station TikToks?

"Married, we've got 4 kids. We got a 5-year-old, a 3-year-old, and 2 twins that are 3 months old. So evidently that takes up a batch of clip there," helium laughed. "And I besides person a emblematic occupation – a occupation that, you know, keeps maine successful the bureau astatine accepted times, you know, benignant of that 8 to 4 oregon 5. So the hours for maine to TikTok are erstwhile the kids are successful bed. There's a model there. You'll work, travel home, family, dinner, bed. And past you've got a small model there, possibly from astir 8 to 10 wherever you tin effort to enactment immoderate clip and effort successful a TikTok. And that's erstwhile I effort to get it done."

Asked to prime his favourite popular civilization communicative successful caller weeks, Schenberg seized connected different accidental to prop up dads connected the app. He said he's been captivated by Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag, 2 erstwhile world stars whose location was 1 of thousands that burned down successful the California wildfires. In an effort to summation the funds to rebuild, Spencer has had much of a beingness connected TikTok and has been promoting Heidi's aged popular music. The album unexpectedly changeable to the apical of the iTunes and Spotify charts, but Spencer admitted he's not definite if it's turning into a profit. 

"Now what Spencer's doing successful pushing Heidi's music, helium conscionable seems truthful relatable," Schenberg said. "And you know, he's conscionable being a dada trying to, you know, marque it enactment for his household and get his worldly backmost and his location back. And conscionable that is thing that consumes maine and, and frankly, rooting for him present successful Chicago for helium and his family."

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Reality stars Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt mislaid their location successful the Palisades fire. (Vivien Killilea/Getty Images/Good Morning America)

"And I emotion dads making an appearance," Schenberg added. "When I archetypal started, determination weren't a batch of dads making dada content, a batch of millennials, dads. But present erstwhile you look connected there, you've got a batch of these dads popping up. You adjacent spot similar Matt Leinart - helium went from the shot field, present a batch of his contented - though inactive sports-related - is with helium and his woman and their kid oregon him having to person hep country and navigating being a dada and walking around, each that. You know, these things are amusive to see. It's amusive to spot different dads truly benignant of showing disconnected online and frankly, showing what being a bully dada looks like."

TikTok work temporarily shuttered connected January 18, leaving thousands of influencers disquieted astir their livelihoods. But the app was restored wrong a day. Schenberg said helium had a affirmative position connected the situation. 

"You know, for me, evidently I emotion TikTok," helium told Fox Digital. "So, you know, I'm not going to beryllium present and accidental I wasn't disappointed, particularly with my benignant of uptick successful popularity close towards the end, it benignant of felt like, Oh, you know. But, if thing more, I was ending connected a precocious note…. I got to truly grow my audience. And successful those past mates of weeks, much radical got to spot my contented than ever before." 

"So, if that genuinely was going to beryllium the extremity of it – again, though immoderate disappointment, I was going to beryllium capable to bent my chapeau connected the information that I enactment retired immoderate truly prime videos, hopefully made immoderate radical laugh, encouraged possibly a fewer others, and conscionable mostly had a great, you know, 4 oregon 5 years connected the app," helium continued. "So, that's however I viewed it. I deliberation it besides – the information that I person a much accepted job, that TikTok has ever been benignant of this again, this other happening that I do. And truthful there's immoderate solace successful knowing that."

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TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew testifies earlier the House Energy and Commerce Committee successful the Rayburn House Office Building connected Capitol Hill connected March 23, 2023, successful Washington, D.C. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) (Getty Images)

But not each TikTok influencers took the impending shutdown of the fashionable Chinese-owned societal media level truthful good aft the Supreme Court upheld a instrumentality to prohibition the exertion if it is not sold successful the United States. Some adjacent posted videos of themselves successful tears implicit the development.

"I conscionable privation a solution wherever it keeps TikTok alive," Schenberg said. "That would beryllium evidently large for maine – not lone arsenic idiosyncratic who puts retired content, but conscionable arsenic a user of it. Again, not to spell backmost to it, but I, erstwhile I privation to find relatable things, things I deliberation are cool, fashion, parenting, tips and tricks and, you know, thing of that. It utilized to beryllium Google. But you spell connected TikTok now. You find parents, oregon different dads, families, things that are doing what you're doing, and you look astatine them to say, 'Hey, what's really the close reply here?'… Or, 'is the happening that my kid is doing present is this okay? Is this what you're seeing arsenic well?'" 

"There is this benignant of assemblage that comes unneurotic that is existent people," helium continued. "That's not, again, a Google effect oregon an AI response… You tin consciousness it. You tin perceive it. You tin spot it. And that's truly what I bask astir astir TikTok. And that's astir apt what I'd miss the astir if it went away, is conscionable being capable to perceive and stock experiences that different radical are having."

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A screenshot of an update successful the TikTok app connected Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025. (Fox News Digital)

While societal media tin beryllium a amusive instrumentality for each ages, determination person been concerns astir however these apps person affected young adults' intelligence health. Some wellness experts person warned that the changeless request for likes, attention, etc., has negatively impacted kids and made them question their self-worth. In fact, a bipartisan conjugation of attorneys wide from implicit a twelve states and Washington, D.C., filed lawsuits against TikTok successful October, alleging the short-form video app was designed to beryllium addictive to kids and harms the intelligence wellness of young users.

With those concerns successful mind, Schenberg was asked what property he'd commencement to let his ain kids to commencement to dabble successful societal media.

"You know, luckily we're not determination yet," helium said. "Again, the oldest kid is five. So we bash person a small spot of clip earlier we person to person those conversations. And that's 1 that my woman and I volition conscionable person to determine connected our ain and what works champion for our family. So, you know, again, what different radical bash is their choice, obviously. And my woman and I volition conscionable person to determine erstwhile and what and wherever and, you know, person to determine that together."

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Schenberg said that successful 2025 his TikTok fans tin expect much of the gags they love, and possibly a fewer surprises, referencing his highly reported "friendly" feud with Landon Barker, lad of rocker Travis Barker.

"This twelvemonth I would emotion to proceed those millennial jams that you perceive – the songs of our precocious schoolhouse years that were truthful nostalgic and inactive tally successful our blood," helium teased. "I would emotion to proceed to propulsion those out. The Fray conscionable released immoderate circuit dates, truthful possibly immoderate accidental there. And past conscionable mostly proceed to speech astir being a dad, a husband. I would emotion to get my woman backmost into immoderate much contented and truly conscionable expanding again, what we bash present successful this location and what it's similar being a dada of four."