Follower Deception

The number of followers you have shouldn't matter, but it does. Here's why. If you're the kind of person who diligently combs the internet looking for valuable wisdom and content, then you've probably decided to "follow" someone on social media. You might form an independent decision based on the content they share, or you might do what most people do, look at their influence. 

Here's how I imagine the thought-process taking place. "Does Justin Bieber have 49M followers? Why yes, he does. Should I care? Well, if 49M other people care, okay." Is it bad? No. It's normal, it's what psychologists call, Social Proof, but it's also not entirely rational.

Resisting the mass is difficult. The consensus is "safe". But that's exactly the point. Group decisions aren't entirely bad, in fact they can be quite useful. E.g. would you go to this dentist based on these reviews? I hope not. Sometimes we need a vetted decision and social validation establishes a helpful safety net. We're not all risk takers and we don't always want to be first. But the moment you poll the mass, you can kiss forming an unbiased opinion goodbye.

The next time you click subscribe, ask yourself, why? Here's my twitter. Follower me, or not. The decision is yours.