On May 19th, 2020, a Twitter User named: “Mother Moon” posted this:
223 characters,
2.3M Likes,
606K Retweets
……….
23 Videos
1.85M subscribers under two months from Apr,1, 2020
and now… 2.36M subscribers +
A Father’s Day video with 68K views in 17 hours [and still counting].
The first half of the stats above presents the numbers on viral tweet by Twitter User: “Mother Moon” while the second half, further depicts the impact of that tweet that goes beyond that. But this isn’t just about numbers, is it? It’s about a message of love, hope and encouragement that resonates so deeply with millions across the globe and their support for the commendable gesture by a man named Rob Kenney that many have now come to know as “Dad” and his YouTube Channel that aims to proffer practical solutions to teen questions that would typically begin with: “Dad, How Do I?”
The story which has gained popularity over the last month and has been covered by Shattered, Pop Sugar and Forbes and Inside Edition, is being re-shared here, on an even more noteworthy celebration: Father’s Day, 2020.
In the midst of a year many may choose to describe as overwhelming [and understandably so], this father finally got around the video endeavour to share some of his fatherly advice as urged by his family; especially by his daughter who had urged him to share some of his “dadvice” so that it could be passed down to her children. With no excuses left during quarantine, he decided to start out making videos in hopes of it helping 30 or 40 other people along the line. I guess 2,359,960 people chose to disagree with that as they follow through his tutorials that range from: How to jump start a car and fix most running toilets to How to shave your face or knot a tie.
So, what makes this Fatherhood Channel so special?
There are quite a good number of successfully-run YouTube channels on Fatherhood that resonate with many people on culture and experiences and a Google Search would prove just that but in popular slang lingo, the question can be rephrased as: Why does this channel hit differently? Here’s what I think [and so do many]:
1. It’s dedicated to helping people; particularly for those who struggle with a broken family or absent parent. While many successfully-run Fatherhood channels would typically chronicle the life and everyday experience of a father, with hopes that those watching may gain lessons, “Dad, How do I?” is a dedicated channel to providing solutions to everyday tasks while passing on wisdom and encouragement. And that hits differently.
“I want it to be about everyday tasks, but I also would like to pass along some of the wisdom I’ve learned along the way to encourage people,” Rob said.
2. His calmness and reassuring tone with which he presents his videos makes it even more heartwarming for his viewers [sorry, kids]. With his signature but yet so familiar opening line of: “Hey, Kids!” and corny “Dad Jokes”, everyone wants to know what dad has to share this time.
“… I thought I was just going to be showing people how to do stuff, but it’s kind of resonating on a whole different level.”
This is even more interesting as two of his most viewed videos with over a million views, are his heartfelt: “THANK YOU” and “I am proud of you“, videos as compared to the thousand views on his other “helpful tasks” videos.
This quote in an interview with Shattered Magazine, makes why he does this even more profound: “My goal in my life was to raise good adults,” Rob said. “I never wanted to be wealthy. I never wanted to be necessarily successful. My goal in life was to raise good adults — not good children but good adults — because I had a fractured childhood.”
Father’s Day Message
The transcript of his Father’s Day message summarily reads:
“If you have a dad, please appreciate him, don’t take him for granted. He’s worked his way to gold”.
“If he’s passed: Take time to remember him. This may be a tough thing at this time”.
“If you never had a dad, “Please try to forgive him and determine to do better, when you get the opportunity”.
“And if you are a dad and may have gotten off track, please re-engage, we need you in our children’s lives”. Get back on track as soon as you can”.
“Thank you for your prayers, I’m praying for you and looking forward to what we may accomplish together”.
You can read the full story on: Family Dysfunction, Faith and Forgiveness.
