Are you a social lurker?
Hey! You there, lurking in the comment section. You! Scrolling, stopping, then scrolling. If you stopped, why didn’t you like? Why didn’t you comment? Is sharing too much to ask? I notice you see my stuff, but you don’t follow… Is it me? Is it my content? Can’t be, you still follow, you watch, but you don’t interact. Why, why are you a lurker? A social lurker…
I just don’t get it. I know I have followers. I see them viewing my stuff. They see my content. They even stop to read and/or stare at it. But why does almost no one comment or share? Hell, just like it! You are not helping anyone. You are just defining that you are a lurker.
No one likes real life lurkers, so no one likes social lurkers. Content is created to be seen, to be liked, to be interacted with. If you don’t want to join in on the conversation, then don’t create an account. The worst lurkers are the ones with no avatar photo, the ones that are just an egg. You know the ones, the accounts that have posted nothing, but are seeing all your stuff. A lurker can even be a person with a profile, an avatar image, but with no posts. These networks are called “social” networks, because you being social is implied. This is the bedrock for these being created, the purpose. Sure, some could say they are built to addict you and data mine your information for advertising, but the main goal is to connect people.
I have the standard three social networks: Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. I see this behavior on all of the platforms. Twitter is my favorite, mainly because of the immediacy of it. It’s almost like a blog of sorts and I love that about it. Lurking here is very prevalent. I have tons of followers, but no engagement. This is most annoying here, because not only do you have lurkers, but you also have so many trolls. Instagram is my second favorite, but would be my favorite if it wasn’t just a game of copying people and trying to be an influencer. Here, I am annoyed because I am really trying to grow a following around my work. This should be a good place for it, but all my lurker followers skip that like button, so I see less of that trending page. Facebook is mainly just annoying, but it connects with so many services and Facebook messenger is great. Facebook is definitely the social network where I’m connected with the most people in real life, but the content from brands, plus the terrible algorithm ruin the whole thing for me. Facebook has the potential to be the best social platform for all users, but because of its lack of listening to its users, it will always be the mom and dad defacto. Because there are so many people I truly know, this is the platform where I take it most personally. You know what I am trying to accomplish here, pay attention to my shit and share it once in a while!
I am 100% not alone here. I have heard people bring this kind of stuff up. People that care about their social media presence should care about this. This shit is affecting us, it is hindering us from being noticed, from making money. I understand social networking isn’t for everyone. Some people think they have nothing to share, they aren’t pretty enough, that they will be judged. All of this is justifiable. The image that people portray on social is downright fake. But if you are not going to get over the stigmas, break through the bullshit, and help the cause, you are worse than the fakers; you are a lurker.
