Pic unrelated cause why not share a meme
Believe it or not, numbers aren’t everything. Especially when it comes to how many followers you have on any big tech platform. While it may seem as though numbers are everything when it comes to social media personalities, it’s the content that they produce which matters. I’ve encountered many talented artists who had less than 1000 followers, partially because they do not post new content every often. Whenever they did post new content, it’s related to their creative works.
Same individuals don’t typically care about sheer numbers because they’d rather have engagement. Having a small, quiet online corner has its perks; the lack of pressure to post something every single day is one of them.There’s also the benefit of being able to be more mindful of what you post instead of posting every little thought you have onto a platform full of toxic people.
Which leads into my next point; the more eyes you have on you, the more critics you’ll attract. If you’re a sensitive soul, it might not be good for your mental health to have so many critics with easy access to you. Do you really want to deal with people nitpicking your every post? There’s a lot on people out there who are ready to dine on your deconstructed self. Anything you say can be taken out of context; this goes double if you were ever in a petty online slap fight, and someone finds a sparse fossilized remains. They don’t care about context, especially if someone was lying about you, they just want something to use against you.
But, with a smaller reach, you potentially attract an audience more willing to hear you out. You’ll be able to respond to accusations at your own pace without algorithmic pressure. So long as you think before you post, you should be able to sail through conflicts just fine.
The same cannot be said if you have millions of followers. There will be a ton of pressure put on you to respond long before you’re ready to. Whatever slap fight you get into will be magnified.
Drama aside, let’s be real: the majority of followers you will receive will most likely be bot accounts. If you’re unfamiliar with the concept of “dead internet theory”, I highly recommend reading up on it because it explains why so many platforms feel empty.Check out this subreddit which is intentionally overrun with bots to get a feel for Dead Internet Theory in action. I’d say about 20% of the posts on there feel like something that actual human beings typed out.
Some further reading on the subject.
When you add in the fact that there’s people who have bought followers, then it makes sense as to how various giant platforms have become overrun with bot accounts. It’s funny how just a few years ago it was written off as nothing more than a creepypasta conspiracy theory; but even mainstream media sources are starting to admit that there is some weight to the conspiracy theory after all. Most platforms don’t do anything about bot activity because they choose not to. Why? Because they need to upkeep the appearance of there being more activity on the website to shareholders.
I didn’t expect to do on a tangent about Dead Internet Theory, but it does tie into the problem with measuring followers. I have experienced this myself, back when I ran an author Twitter account I’d say about 55% of followers were bots farming for specific things to go viral.
Right before I was permanently banned off of Facebook, I noticed that half of the replies I’d receive on public posts came from bot accounts with stolen identities. And, don’t get me started on the OnlyFans AI accounts that spammed notifications on Twitter.
In conclusion, don’t beat yourself up if you have less than 1000 followers at any given time. Be glad that you have the space to be you, so that you can produce higher quality content. Followers mean nothing in the age of bots overtaking just about every platform you can think of. You’re worth far more than that.
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