Stop The ‘Follow-Unfollow’ Game; It Doesn’t Look Nice
Following on Medium is different from other platforms. It also means encouragement. Thus, I always wanted to follow everyone who encouraged me.
Many of you must have got a notification today that ‘Ritu followed you’. It was long due, and I would like to start by thanking you for following me and not ‘unfollowing’ even though I followed you all back very late. I wasn’t using Medium for months, yet you all stayed. Now that I plan to use Medium daily, I will ensure that I read everyone’s writeups more regularly.
The ‘Follow-Unfollow’ Game: How and Why Some People Play It
We all know why some people follow us and, after a few days, they unfollow us silently while we stay there as a follower. They want to grow their followers and keep their ‘following’ in single digits. The people in following are too busy to notice this (like I was). Some people also feel it is not a big deal. I used to feel the same way. I didn’t mind following them. Because to me, following equals encouragement, and I wanted to encourage everyone. But over time, I realized that:
- This was instead inspiring them to do the same to everyone.
- It was disheartening after some time.
It Doesn’t Look Nice
Firstly, it makes people look selfish and leaves a negative impression. Compared to other platforms, I have found people on Medium to be very encouraging. They interact, give constructive feedback, and also support you. So, using the “follow-unfollow followers gain trick” here leaves a gloomy impression (really), which doesn’t encourage anyone to read their articles. Secondly, it discourages people who only want to build a genuine community. Believe me, not everyone is blessed with supportive friends. They come to platforms like Medium for motivation and encouragement. If you can ensure such an environment, you will naturally feel good.
Way Forward
Honestly, some people will keep doing this even if they read this. However, I really hope many can have a change of heart. A genuine advice I would like to give to all to be supportive and kind. In today’s world, it is rare to be kind. You don’t have to try hard. Just do everything in your comfort zone & you will realize what feels minimal to you means a lot to others. Following back is one such thing. I always wanted to highlight this but I didn’t get time.
I will follow back everyone and also read writeups. But the reading part can be slow due to time constraints. But I will do it for sure. Apologies again for the delay.
