Two parents have been commended for helping their adult daughter practise her commute for her new job.
Stizz Chung (@stizzchung) recently took to TikTok, where she posted a candid video of her mother and father accompanying her on her practise work commute. The 27-year-old shared footage of the three of them walking through the subway in Seattle, as she pretended like she was going into the office.
“POV: you’re a 27-year-old teenage girl starting a new job next week and your parents insist on practising your new commute with you,” her on-screen caption read.
The video - which has attracted more than 6.7m viewers – prompted conversations about whether it’s appropriate to seek help from your parents when you’re no longer a child.
Critic and podcaster Hannah Berrelli reshared Stizz’s TikTok on X - formerly known as Twitter - and wrote: “There is something seriously wrong with this generation. Infantilised and proud of it.”
Her follow-up tweet read: “Bring back shame.”
While Berrelli was swift in making her opposition known, other online users didn’t hold back their disagreement. Viewers pointed out how her comment was uncalled for, and another example of someone creating a problem out of nothing.
One husband replied to Berrelli’s tweet: “Lol another reason I wanna get off social media ‘cause y’all make problems out of absolutely nothing. My wife starts a new job next week and I went on a test run with her on her new commute today. She a grown ass woman, did I need to go with her. Absolutely.”
“Theres nothing wrong with this. It’s weird to think this is weird,” another X user agreed.
On Stizz’s TikTok, defenders flooded her comment section to praise her mom and dad on their parenting methods.
“I love it. Hyper-individualism is killing me, I love seeing families connected with each other like this,” one woman wrote.
“This is so wholesome. Nowadays this doesn’t exist,” another individual noted.
One person weighed in: “I’m 36 and my dad did this exact thing with me three weeks ago.”
Other users addressed the safety benefits of having your parental figures know your route to work.
“Why is this bad? I’m 31 and have a group chat with family that I use to tell them we’re I’m at basically all the time. I do the same with my closest friends. I think this is good,” a woman tweeted.
The ongoing commentary surrounding her TikTok video prompted Stizz to post a separate video addressing the backlash. Rather than filming her response, she wrote a message in her iPhone’s Notes app and shared the screenshot to her TikTok.
“Hey internet, it’s the 27-year-old here. Thanks for the big debate, my engagement rate on TikTok’s never been better,” she said.
Stizz clarified that she was aware of her age and despite what the internet haters had assumed, her parents were not “helicopter parents.” In fact, they had asked to go with her on her work commute because they wanted to see more of Seattle.
“My parents are immigrants and I was simply showing them the new office as they are so proud I landed a big time job,” she added.
The Independent has reached out to Stizz for comment.
