I have a select (i.e. modest) number of followers on this blog. This, perhaps, reflects the focus (Science) and my resolutely refusing to 'monitorize' the blog with advertisements (that would, I feel, damage my 'street cred'). Given, however, the recent impacts of influencers (folk with, in some cases, hundreds of millions of followers), I've been wandering why such massive 'fan clubs' are generated, as well as their impact. Certain people followed en masse, make no attempt to promulgate actual truths. Some folk have unkindly referred to followers as 'sheeple' (a cross, in behavioural tendencies, between people and sheep). It's unlikely, however, to be simply a 'herd thing'. I suspect that there are actually a vast array of rationales for following someone online. Some may actually want to belong to a collective. Others may a) admire the poster; b) feel the writer fills a gap in their lives; c) simply desire to check what the poster is saying; d) be seeking entertainment rather than understanding and e) want to 'know' what their friends 'know'. Sadly, certain select rich/powerful folk can use algorithms to inflate their follower numbers. Some influencers (whether motivated by simple finance and/or politics) seem actually dangerous, especially if followers only get their opinions from that single source. Much of social media seems currently a very unhealthy place. It's getting rapidly less healthy!
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