I don’t need to tell you that social media is where many members of Gen Z spend their time most days. Apps like TikTok can keep you connected with friends, introduce you to inspiring creators, and provide endless hours of entertainment, but widespread social media use is not always a good thing. Plenty of TikTok trends promote questionable things, like overconsumption of products or beauty standards that are impossible to achieve. Unfortunately, if you’re a young woman on the internet, the toxicity caused by these trends practically can’t be avoided, which can make navigating online spaces frustrating. Heidi Becker noticed this, and she decided to do something about it.
Becker, a writer and creative who describes herself online as an “accidental slam poet,” began posting videos in the style of slam poetry in which she recites popular TikTok brainrot phrases and makes commentary on them. Her speedy cadence and satirical yet poignant take on the downsides of social media overuse quickly captured her audience’s attention. Currently, Becker has over 200,000 followers and more than 13 million likes on TikTok.
“I was just sharing thrifted outfits and little snippets of my apartment,” Becker tells Her Campus in an exclusive interview, referring to the kind of content she made before finding her niche. “In one video, I posted strung-together different aesthetics and beauty trends and all of these ridiculous things when said all in a row. [It] kind of made an impact of being slam poetry against consumerism.”
Becker, like just about every other young woman online, is no stranger to how both overconsumption of products and overconsumption of media negatively impacts mental health. “It was clear that my experience was not just a singular experience, and it really tapped into this collective feeling,” she says.
But how does she channel this feeling so powerfully? She says her poem’s topics are typically based on current events or social media trends. “Sometimes [my inspiration] is from scrolling and I’ll see something that really sets me off, like it’s so absurd or ridiculous that I feel like I need to elaborate on that,” she says. “But my process recently has been, first thing in the morning, open my notebook and just kind of write and not go on my phone.”
Becker’s TikTok poems are even more impressive because she recites them at lightning speed. “I get a lot of comments like, ‘Wow, not one stutter!’ and it’s like well, yeah, I took a bunch of takes,” she says, noting it typically takes her about 30 minutes to record one of her videos, because she completes them all in one take. “Sometimes you get all the way to the end and then mess up.”
Becker describes first going viral for her poems as a “dopamine rush.” Her unique response to consumerism and overconsumption struck a chord in many viewers who had been privately feeling the same way. “I very much feel like the success that I’ve built from my platform and the fun projects I get to do from it is not just my own success,” she says. “It’s a lot of the people who have interacted with me … It feels like a very nice rhythm that I have going where it’s a very collective success where I help other people.”
It’s true that Becker’s videos have united thousands online, showing them that they are not alone in their distress about social media and the state of the world in general. “I think I’m putting words to something people have been feeling, but haven’t been able to find the words for themselves,” she says.
Becker hopes to extend her influence as she continues to expand her audience and reach new people across social media. Beyond social media, though, Becker hopes to continue expressing herself through writing and engaging with her audience. “I want to keep doing what I’m doing for sure, but I would like to memorialize my words, moving forward beyond just the digital space,” she says. “I’m ironically criticizing the digital space, so it would be nice to also have something that lives beyond that.” She has already ventured beyond TikTok on her Substack, where she posts regularly. She said she hopes to continue engaging in meaningful brand partnerships (which are some of the most exciting things that have come as a result of going viral on TikTok).
It’s undeniable that Becker’s unique form of “slam poetry” criticism has changed not only her own life, but the lives and viewpoints of her thousands of fans. She describes having a newfound trust in herself as a result of creating these TikToks. “I think that’s what’s really exciting, the kind of creative freedom that I feel and that I’m able to explore, and the trust that people have in my vision.”