How a 1980s hit went viral on TikTok

TikTok presented it's power on the example of 'Break My Stride', a perky pop smash from 1983 by Matthew Wilder. Thousands of users have shared the song in a texting lyrics prank, and compilations of the clips are racking up hundreds of thousands of views on YouTube. The prank is simple: You text someone the lyrics to Break My Stride, one line at a time, until they figure out what's going on; then you film yourself dancing in front of the text chain. The results are hilarious: teachers have been pranked by their pupils, and cheating boyfriends have met their comeuppance. One user sent the lyrics to a man who'd been lurking in her DMs. Other recipients simply recognize the song and join in the fun. Compilations of the clips have been watched more than 100,000 times on YouTube. The author Matthew Wilder says he's "astonished and thrilled".