To lurk or not to lurk? That is the question!
I realise that as one of the core team of a social networking app, you wouldn’t expect me to be a social media lurker — but I’m happy to put my hand up and admit it! And when I recently posted on TalkLife confessing to this habit, I was met with many posts of agreement from our community that they too are lurkers. Off the back of my post, I decided to do a bit more research into the behaviour of lurking and whether it was actually making my experience with social media better or worse.
Lurking describes the behaviour of users who observe, but do not participate on social media networks. It is thought that around 90% of all social media users are lurkers (phew… I’m not in the minority!) and there are a variety of reasons why individuals choose to lurk. I myself choose not to participate as I feel such a pressure now to ensure that anything I post is super interesting and/or includes a perfect image to make sure I get the likes. I feel like nobody really wants to see a picture of my muddy front garden which I spent Saturday weeding, they want to see a beautifully manicured one on a lovely summer’s day.
I haven’t always felt this way, I used to be pretty prolific, posting photos of nights out with friends, holidays, recent DIY projects etc, but social media is no longer as pure as it used to be. The content is now all perfectly curated through the user of filters and photo editing apps, gone are the days of doing a quick upload of a photo or your current thoughts. So I am now happy to spend my time scrolling through everyone else’s feeds reading their posts and admiring their photos.
But am I getting the most out of the social networks I use by just sitting back and being an observer?
A study by the University of Copenhagen warns that lurking on social media without connecting with anyone can have a negative impact on users, as by not interacting and engaging with other users, lurkers are not benefiting from the positive impact that social connection can have. I guess it’s like going to a party and standing in the corner watching and listening to everyone else’s conversations, rather than actually participating… albeit no one can see you in the corner when you’re lurking online!
If I think back to when I have actually posted on social media, there have been positive outcomes such as helping a child be reunited with their lost bunny or reconnecting with friends from times gone by. And obviously, there is the benefit of that small dopamine hit you get when someone comments or likes your post. But do these benefits outweigh my existing fears of my post being met with deathly silence or, worst of all, being trolled?
For me I think I could find a better happy medium where I post enough to build connections and get a better sense of belonging, resulting in a more positive experience. However I think there’ll always be a lurker inside me… so don’t expect to see a barrage of posts from me and I’m sure I’ll occasionally fall back into my old ways!
We built TalkLife on the basis of social connection and the benefit of talking openly and exploring feelings. The option to be able to participate anonymously on TalkLife makes the proposition of being a non-lurker far more attractive to me (along with the ability to delete a post if I no longer want it up in the community to see). Our network is also somewhere where users don’t have to worry about showing their picture perfect selves, you can vent and tell the community how you’re really feeling without the fear of judgement. The benefit of getting that off your chest definitely outweighs the benefit of scrolling through just reading other users’ posts!
However, everyone is welcome at TalkLife — lurkers and all. But why not try giving posting a go? You never know what fab support and advice our community will be able to share with you!
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