The Tyranny of Followers

Summary

The article discusses the societal pressure to accumulate a high number of followers on various digital platforms, reflecting on the implications of this trend for our digital lives.

Abstract

The article titled "The Tyranny of Followers" delves into the pervasive nature of digital life and its obsession with amassing followers across social media platforms. It highlights the constant emphasis on the quantity of followers over quality interactions, as seen on networks like Facebook and Instagram, and extends this concern to writing platforms like Medium, where the number of followers or readers is equated with success. The author expresses apprehension about the future, particularly with the advent of Facebook's Metaverse, which may further blur the lines between the real and virtual worlds, intensifying the pursuit of digital popularity. The piece underscores the anxiety and the almost unstoppable, inertia-driven process of signing up for new platforms, following and being followed, and the societal push to engage in this cycle. The author personally reflects on the pressure to gain about fifty followers on Medium by December, questioning the sustainability of this pursuit and its impact on the end of the year.

Opinions

The author suggests that digital life's omnipresence has led to an unhealthy fixation on the number of followers, with little regard for the quality of interactions.
There is a critical view of the social media dynamic where the emphasis is on quantity ("possibly in the greatest possible quantity") rather than quality of followers.
The article implies that the upcoming Metaverse by Facebook could exacerbate the issue, as it will likely encourage the same follower-centric philosophy in a more immersive virtual environment.
The author points out an "almost unstoppable process" of new platforms emerging with a focus on follower counts, suggesting a societal norm that is self-perpetuating.
A sense of personal urgency is conveyed as the author is pressed to increase their Medium followers within a limited timeframe, hinting at the stress and unrealistic expectations this culture imposes on individuals.

Whichever web page you visit, there will be a number of “fans” or “friends” to conquer…

Digital life is very present in our daily reality and plays an ever greater role at every juncture of the day. This feeds the tyranny of followers: whatever web page you visit, there will be a number of “fans” or “friends” to be won, possibly in the greatest possible quantity (quality seems unimportant).

Do you want to join a social network? It just counts how many followers you have. Do you want to put a souvenir photo on Instagram? Yes, that’s fine, but how many subscribers do you have? Do you want to write on Medium? You must have at least 100 readers.

It is likely that the novelty of Facebook’s Metaverse, indeed of Meta, will nourish this philosophy. The concrete reality will further mix with the virtual one and our avatars will move among their digital fans in a parallel and impalpable dimension. What anxiety.

New platforms and media continue to emerge that think in terms of followers, it is an almost unstoppable process that advances by inertia. You have to sign up, you need to follow someone and be followed, you need to feed this somewhat absurd circle in which you don’t know each other but like each other, because society pushes us in this direction.

In the meantime, mid-November has passed and I have less than a month and a half of time: by December I have to find about fifty followers on Medium and I don’t know how to do it. Will it be a happy end of the year?

The Tyranny of Followers

Whichever web page you visit, there will be a number of “fans” or “friends” to conquer…

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