A homeless teenager has gone viral and gained nearly 600,000 followers on TikTok this week after posting a candid video showing others how he prepares his food.
According to BoredPanda, the video in question was uploaded to the platform on February 24 by a user going by the @randomhomelessguy2, who is currently living rough on the streets along with his mom.
The TikTok user has since uploaded two videos showing others how he and his parent survive on super cost-efficient meals, such as ramen noodles, pasta, and passata with bread.
The teen also shows how he employs an electric cooker, which he purchased on the cheap - supplying himself with water from drinking fountains and power from public sockets.
According to the teen, the videos were recorded on his iPhone 11, which his mom bought for him last year at the beginning of 2020 before they lost their homes.
The first video quickly picked up a lot of attention online, accruing over 20 million views, 4.7 million likes, and over 72,000 comments from other TikTok users as of the time of writing.
For instance, one person wrote: "Take care! I hope things get better for you [sic]"
Another person wrote: "Do people not understand [the] difference between homeless and poor?? buying a 15 dollar pan and a house are completely different things."
Meanwhile, someone else wrote: "ppl give 22k to a lady with glue on her head when they could help someone like this instead [...] I hate it here."
Another person wrote: "I'm so proud of you! Please make sure to stay safe x [sic]"
Finally, someone else wrote: "clearly some people in the comments think that being homeless means you have pennies, no phonem nothing... guys homeless means without a home."
In a later follow-up post, the unnamed teen responded to claims from some skeptics that his videos had been faked for the sake of views, and thanked his supporters for their encouraging words.
