A minister posted a viral TikTok this week about people suffering from homelessness having iPhone 12s and 13s all while needing assistance at a local food kitchen.
The viral TikTok has over 96,000 views, 1,848 likes, and 328 comments.
In the video you see the minister and TikTok creator @7gils stunned with text that reads: “Trying to figure out how the homeless people at the soup kitchen be checking their facebooks and snapchats on their iPhone12’s and 13’s all while I’m shooting tiktoks on an old iPhone 8 that holds a battery charge for 45 minutes.”
This sparked a debate in the comment section where many viewers voiced their opinions on what is considered a luxury item or a necessity connection to the modern-day world.
Viewer @soloracle commented, “You don’t get to decide what ‘luxury’ items a homeless person gets to have. A cell phone is considered a necessity.” The user received 66 likes on their comment.
Another viewer expressed the same viewpoint and called out the TikTok creator for bashing people suffering from homelessness.
“Comparison is the enemy of all happiness. I think this is just a way to bash homeless people,” said @laney77777.
“It’s actually the thief of joy. And how am I bashing homeless people? I’m trying to figure out how they got social media and iPhones 🙄🙄🙄,” replied TikTok creator @7gils.
Other viewers were not too keen on the idea of a person suffering from homelessness owning a $1,000 phone.
“Not hard to understand us working Americans are supporting the lazy,” commented @kimberly144499.
Some people suffering from homelessness may have access to receive a cell phone through government assistance programs and rely on free Wi-Fi and apps like WhatsApp. In 2013, the state of California and the Federal Communications Commission offered a statewide program offering anyone making less than $15,000 a year access to a free cell phone.
According to the comments, the minister was using this reference as a joke and allegedly has an iPhone 13 himself. The minister has posted similar videos complaining about gas prices and coronavirus vaccines.
The Daily Dot has reached out to @7gils via TikTok comment.
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