Black Men Are Frolicking Across Tiktok in Black Boy Joy

Social media is no stranger to heartwarming moments. You know the ones that completely tug on your heartstrings and make you remember everything right with the world. That joy is made all the more palpable when it hits Black Twitter, especially in regards to Black men leaning into spaces of vulnerability. Whether it be a precious sibling moment, a father’s reaction to his son’s haircut, or a thread of Black men smiling, we’re here for it all.

Most recently, that joy spilled over to TikTok when Black men started frolicking across users’ timelines. According to Mashable, it all started when TikTok user @thexsadxoptimistic posted a video of himself running through a meadow of yellow flowers with a fresh shape up, a bright pink shirt, and a huge smile on his face. “Oh my god! I am frolicking!,” he exclaimed. The video went viral, gaining over 3.4 million views and more than 790,000 likes to date.

@thexsadxoptimistic How many of y’all can say y’all frolicked before⁉️ #BlackBoyJoy #BigEnergy ♬ original sound - ThexSadxOptimistic

The sporadic action of frolicking spread like wildfire, many other Black men also taking to the app to post videos of their own cheerful gallivanting, the tags “frolicking” and “Black men frolic” racking up millions of views.

Comedian Leslie Jones took to social media to share a stitched compilation of these joyful videos, encouraging more Black men to share their frolicking videos so she could post them.

“Ok this is the best thing I have ever seen?! I WANT MORE!! EVERYONE! I will post them!! This is joy right here! I want to see the world FROLICKING!!,” Jones wrote.

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A post shared by Leslie Jones (@lesdogggg)

Surprisingly, this isn’t the first time frolicking has gone viral, Twitter user @itsMalikEl posting about the joys of frolicking in August 2020 when he encouraged all of his followers to get outdoors.

“I frolicked for the first time ever today bruh. Y’all ever frolic before???? Why no one ever tell me about this,” we wrote.

i frolicked for the first time ever today bruh. y’all ever frolic before???? why no one ever tell me about this pic.twitter.com/HH03qAouOE
— malik (@itsMalikEl) August 24, 2020