Professor Matthew Pittman isn’t your typical social media teacher.

Just three weeks into the semester, associate advertising and public relations professor Pittman made huge waves on his class’ social media for TikTok and Instagram videos filmed with students. On TikTok alone, Pittman has 60,400 followers and has generated 14.8 million likes.

His recent — and most viral — video reacted to Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s engagement announcement, with the video showcasing Pittman frazzled and “not being able to focus” on the lecture, ultimately “canceling” class due to excitement over the pop culture news.

The video, lasting just under 23 seconds, was recognized globally and reposted by mainstream platforms like the New York Post, People Magazine, TMZ, USA Today and more.

On TikTok, the video received 3.7 million views, 352,500 likes, 2884 comments and 12,200 saves.

“Out of all of the silly things we film in this class, I didn’t thinkthiswould be the one to go so famous,” Pittman said in his lecture Aug. 28, just three days after the video.

This was not Pittman’s first in-class video gone viral, but one of dozens.

“I wouldn’t say it’s the most viral social media class in Tennessee (unless I have a huge blind spot in my social feed). It’s the biggest social media class in theworld. … We might even be more famous than Taylor now,” Pittman said.

Before getting his start in higher education with the campus nickname “that social media professor,” Pittman was a youth pastor who taught high school students in Vero Beach, Florida.

“I realized that I liked educating and teaching young people stuff,” Pittman said.

When he made the switch to become a full-time professor at the University of Tennessee to teach, he knew it was the right decision.

“I love college students because they are adults and just starting to become the final draft version of themselves,” Pittman said. “I love being around people as they’re at the start of their career, like taking off. There’s so much energy, optimism and enthusiasm.”

According to students, an element of surprise is present in each class.

“My favorite part of the class is, it’s all over the place. We never know what we’re going to do or who is going to show up to the class,” Senior Evie Sheeran, communications studies major, said.

Pittman referenced the various video clips taken during his class, where engagement and algorithm make up just two of the many components taught in the statistics behind going viral.

“I teach in a way that students can learn something, and then we put it out into the real world, where the people decide. … Instead of learning a concept from a textbook, we can just learn the principle and then try the principle in the world of social media, which is super valuable,” Pittman said.

Students are given the chance to receive feedback and analyze how a public audience is receiving the content, as class videos are posted to the “real world.”

“I can learn something, then apply it right after,” sophomore Dalton Courtney said. “We film something at the end of the class, or even at the beginning of the class, then we look at the metrics.”

Hands-on learning is primarily experienced through these filmed skits, according to freshman Caleb McAdam.

“They’re really effective in the engagement farming aspect of the class,” McAdam said.

Creating video skits with students is a guarantee when attending the class. Pittman angles the content to constantly change, making it relevant to pop culture and current events.

Beyond the numbers, students have found great merit in being a part of the class’s success. When asked about their favorite part of the class, students were quick to speak positively.

“We’ve had four or five classes so far and it’s been great,” McAdam said. “(Pittman is) such a giant goofball, but so passionate about actually helping us learn about how what we do on the internet impacts others.”

Reflecting on student success inside and outside of the classroom, Pittman said in today’s generation, “social media is life.”

“You’re never going to get things totally right,” he says. “There’s always something you can improve on and it’s OK to fail a couple of times as long as you’re overall working towards growth.”

For Pittman, working toward success includes the continuation of creating new and entertaining content, one class period at a time — that is, if there’s room.

According to Pittman, the class has almost “maxed out” in size, which he calls “a good problem to have.”

This year’s roster included 220 students, a 60 person increase from just 2 years ago.

“A class of this size, it’s a lot of fun. … In the future it will probably be broken up into two classes,” Pittman said.

“My advisor told me a lot of people enjoyed it, and I didn’t realize how hard it would be to get in,” Livi Kernnard, a sophomore studying journalism, said. “It’s actually really special, being in this class, especially with such an interesting professor.”

“No hesitation, take the class,” Courtney said. “You won’t regret it and you will always be excited to go there. You’re going to meet tons of new people and get tons of opportunities.”

As silliness and humor go hand in hand with the inner works of producing viral content, Pittman said this momentous time for his career is ultimately all about the learning experience.

“I’m so proud of the whole class, the students and everything we’re doing,” Pittman said.