Quotation: “That’s why you can have a thousand “friends” on Facebook, as you never could in real life” (Gladwell 5).
Comment: Despite all the positives social media brings to society, this quote sparked a realization in my head. Even though Gladwell may have stated this sentence with a positive connotation, I grasped a negative connotation. On social media platforms such as Facebook, you can follow or be followed by any other user. You can be followed by family, friends, or people you may have never met. Having thousands of followers on social media sparks a false reality of someone’s life. No one can possibly have thousands of friends in real life. As a female college student I know how obsessed people can become over how many people follow them. People become discouraged or depressed when they have a lesser following then other girls or individuals their age. People with thousands of followers may appear to the outside world like they have so many friends, but in reality they most likely don’t actually know half the people that follow them. I am a prime example. I have over 1800 followers on Instagram. After reading this article, and specifically this quote I went to my Instagram page a scrowled through my followers. So many of my followers are people who I either don’t communicate with anymore or just know me through sports/other people. No way do I actually know, communicate, or have a connection with over 1800 people. I know I don’t actually have that many friends, but to the outside world that number casts a false reality of my life. Social Media is a positive platform, but Gladwell through this quote exemplifies one of its disadvantages.
Question: Do you have an actual connection or truly know every single one of your social media followers?
