I’m so sorry that this happened to you.
I’m 25, so old enough that I’m not super interested in videos made by teenagers, but I’m young enough to remember my own prom and I understand why this would be uncomfortable and scary for you and your friends, and I also understand why you would want to make a video with your friends and post it. Prom is a MAJOR milestone, of course you would want to document and preserve the moment! That’s completely understandable.
Personally, my viewers are mostly 25-34 and 18-24. Plus most are female. From my analytics I’m looking at while writing this, 64% of my audience in the past year has been female, 58.9% has been 18-24, and 28.7% has been 25-34.
Considering I’m female and turned 25 back in July, if we look at my analytics, my viewers are mostly my peers, basically. Other young women my age. Maybe a little younger because of 18-24 being the majority group as far as age goes, but still. I’m closer in age to an 18 year old than I am to a 34 year old. (I don’t think TikTok gives creators access to any viewership data they would collect from minors, I don’t have an “under 18” category in my analytics, but obviously there’s a solid chance that there are minors that do watch my content.)
I say this to say, basically, that your analytics do worry me a little, especially because I’m so much older and make gaming content, so it’s understandable that more men would watch my videos, and despite your video being more meant for other girls your age, you have more old, male viewers than me, a 25 year old adult woman who posts things more associated with masculinity at times. Having a bunch of men who are way, WAY older than you looking at a video of you and your friends, who are all still teenagers, is understandably scary. I know if it had happened to me, I would have a similar reaction as you. When we compare my analytics to yours, especially because you make content specifically for teenage girls, it’s definitely really creepy to me that so many old men watched your video.
Even so, take a deep breath. If you’re worried, block anyone who looks suspicious. If someone you don’t know tries to DM you or your friends, block and report. If you’re REALLY worried, tell your parents. If you get to 1k viewers, there’s an option as to whether or not you want to allow people who aren’t moots to DM you. I’d recommend at your age you turn that option OFF for safety reasons. Livestreams won’t be an issue because you have to be 18+ to stream anyway, so that shouldn’t be a problem even once you hit that 1k follower milestone.
Again, take a deep breath. Remember basic internet safety. Don’t post anything that can identify where you live or where you go to school. Don’t talk to strangers or trust strangers on the internet. If you get really, really worried, or the video blows up more and it gets overwhelming, there’s no shame in going private until things blow over. Your safety should ALWAYS come first when it comes to content creation, ESPECIALLY right now when you’re still a minor. That’s not to say it won’t remain important once you’re an adult, but you’re unfortunately a lot more vulnerable to being hurt by bad people as a minor. That’s just the awful world we live in. (I say all this as someone who started doing YouTube at 16, so I know what it’s like to be a content creator as a minor, to an extent.)
I hope you and your friends had an amazing night at Prom, and that you have an awesome last few months of high school. I know tests and finals and all that can be stressful, but try to enjoy the last bit of time with your current friend group, okay? And remember: no need to panic, just take things one step at a time, and if you’re scared, talk to a trusted irl adult, and they can help keep you safe.
I hope me giving you this advice helped you feel validated in your concerns, while also helping you think through the situation. I wanted to validate your concerns, because they are absolutely valid, but I also wanted to help give you practical solutions to keep you safe, while also not taking the more extreme route of having to delete the video or your account.
