TikTok scrolling is usually associated with younger users, but one Malaysian family has shown that older generations can get just as invested in the endless feed.
A recent Threads post by Malaysian user Aiman (@aimanariffinnn) has attracted attention after his family gave his father a colouring book in an attempt to reduce the amount of time he spends on TikTok.
The post, shared on September 1, was captioned with a playful explanation that the family had to give their dad a colouring book to “cure his TikTok addiction” and reduce his screen time. The caption also asked whether other people had fathers with a similar habit.
The father is seated comfortably with an open colouring book resting on his lap, while a collection of coloured marker pens sits nearby.
He wasn’t just holding the colouring book for the camera either.
Dad was fully locked in, carefully colouring each tiny section like he had somewhere to be.
Dad Gets Fully Into His New Hobby
Instead of giving the colouring book a quick try and going straight back to TikTok, he actually committed to it.
With a number of markers beside him, he stayed focused on the page and worked his way through the detailed designs.
Some parts of the artwork were already filled with bright colours, while other sections were still waiting for their turn. From the way he was going at it, the activity clearly wasn’t a five-minute distraction.
The family may have introduced colouring as a way to get him off his phone, but Dad seemed to have taken the new hobby pretty seriously. The detailed artwork also makes the activity look more like a serious creative project than a quick distraction.
That detail contributes to the post’s distinctiveness. The original idea was reportedly to give the father something to do away from his phone, but the video suggests that he has embraced the alternative rather enthusiastically.
The father is dressed in a blue floral-patterned shirt and remains seated throughout the clip, giving the short video a calm contrast to the fast-paced nature of TikTok content.
From TikTok Scrolling To Colouring Pages
According to the original post, the colouring book was introduced specifically because the family wanted to cut down on their father’s screen time. The family referred to his TikTok use as an “addiction” in the caption, although that wording came from the post itself rather than a medical diagnosis.
The approach is simple: instead of spending the same stretch of free time on a phone, the father is given something physical to work on. In the video, that replacement activity appears to have held his attention, at least for the duration of the footage.
The colouring book also gives him something tangible to complete. Unlike an endless social media feed, the page has a clear visual result, with each section becoming more colourful as he works through it.
The moment has resonated because the roles are slightly reversed. Parents are often the ones telling their children to put their phones away, but here, the children appear to be the ones trying to pull their father away from his screen.
The Colouring Book May Have Found Its Audience
The story did not end with the first video. In a separate follow-up clip, Aiman showed his father proudly displaying the artwork he had completed. The father can be seen flipping through the coloured pages and showing the results to his family.
Aiman’s follow-up caption joked that his father was now excited to show off his artwork while also hoping he would recover from his TikTok habit rather than become “addicted” to colouring instead.
That follow-up gave the original post another layer, showing that the colouring book was not simply left untouched after being handed over. The father had apparently spent enough time with it to complete artwork that he was happy to share with the family.
The posts also attracted responses from other social media users who said they had tried similar activities with their own parents and grandparents. Some mentioned giving older family members colouring books, Sudoku and paint-by-number activities as alternatives to spending long periods on their phones.
A Family Moment That Struck A Chord
The original post had received close to 11,000 likes and more than 200 comments by September 2, with users sharing their own experiences of helping older relatives spend less time on their phones.
For this Malaysian family, however, the main attraction remains the unexpected transformation from TikTok viewer to colouring enthusiast. The uploaded video captures the father quietly concentrating on his artwork, surrounded by marker pens and a page that is steadily filling with colour.
What began as a family attempt to reduce screen time has therefore produced something much more entertaining: a dad who appears to have taken his new colouring project seriously, complete with artwork worth showing off afterwards.
Watch the video here:
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