‘Fake Claps’ is All You Get Sharing Your Stories on FB Groups!

Fake readers cheat themselves but they just don’t know it

See the above image closely. What do you notice?

The story has 06 reads, but surprisingly 11 fans. I assume that the six people who read the story liked it and clapped. But who are those 05 who didn’t read yet showed generosity by clapping?

For your information, I got those clap right after sharing the story on a Facebook group (for Medium writers). I wonder why did they do it?

Let me tell you something about the FB group. The group I shared the story with has nearly 10,000 members. It’s a group where any member can promote their stories. But there is an unspoken rule I observed.

The rules go like this —

You share a story and tell others to share their story-links. You read their stories, clap, and respond if you like. They reciprocate by doing the same.

Well, as a writer, I like to read other’s stories and feel good when they read mine. I think it’s okay; a win-win for all parties. So, I shared my article saying Read and drop your link. And within a few moments, some writers put their story-links in the comment sections. I read and responded accordingly.

Then after a few hours, when I looked at my stats out of curiosity, it really made me laugh. I found that eleven people clapped when the actual reader’s number is six.

It hurt me, of course, but I was not that surprised. I know there are a lot of fake readers on this platform who just want your attention. However, clapping without even reading is always unexpected because clap indicates that you have read the story and liked it.

But the fake readers fool you with claps only to get your attention. Because when you see a person — who dropped a link in your comment section — clapped your story, you feel morally obligated to read his/her post and respond to it.

So, I think clapping without reading is cheating. And those — who do it — cheat themselves more than anyone else.

Reading other’s articles helps you in many ways. It opens a window to know something new — something you did not know before.

Maybe you will love the subject matter, or the way it is presented, or the choice of words and structures. Who knows, it can be on a topic that may help you in the future. Reading always increases your knowledge and enhances your understanding of the world. That’s god honest truth.

But anyhow, if you are not interested in the article shared by someone, just let it go. Scroll down, ignore it. Nobody is forcing you to read anything. Then, why cheating and fake clapping?

So, please stop giving fake claps. Stop cheating yourself.

Thank you for reading.

If you want to read more of my writings, you may read my popular articles on Medium from the following links —

1. Identify Your Fake Readers on Medium
2. I Write Masterpiece, Others Write Bullsh*t — Mindset
3. How I Unfollowed My Father and Learned Things Differently
4. If Aristotle Were a Medium Writer
5. The School of Nature

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