Followers

Followers are the currency of social media. If someone creates content that gets thousands or millions of people to watch and tap a button to follow them, they can turn it into cash. 

For businesses, a big audience means they can pay to efficiently access a pool of viewers by placing ads and sponsorships, hoping to sell something and add to their own followers. They know we’ll even watch someone unbox products and comment on them, which is just another type of commercial with a paid spokesperson. I’ve been in the advertising and design business my entire career and know how this works from the inside. It’s just a new flavor of the same old thing since TV and radio were invented. Before that, it was print ads – ideally with a celebrity endorsement because who knows more about a washing machine than a movie star?

Like all of the things the internet has made possible over the last couple of decades, there’s both a positive and a negative side. Yes, there are many inspiring, entertaining and useful content creators, but when going after the biggest numbers to get the most viewers, it isn’t all puppies and giggling babies. There’s also lots of  shock-value, highly controversial, and violent content. Or pretty people posing in different places wearing less clothes or… you’ve seen it, you get it. So do kids.

It’s a cycle. People get addicted to watching, businesses keep adding more fuel, and content creators get addicted to the attention, money, and the illusion of power. It’s the wild, wild, west without a sheriff. You have to be your own.

Let’s think about this for a minute. When you follow someone, you let them take the lead. They are your guide. That’s why popular social media “celebrities” are called influencers. You may not be conscious of it, but what they do or say or use or wear affects you – because you keep coming back for more. Life becomes distorted and one day you wake up to see you went down their path and not your own. You set aside your own life that may have felt boring or “less than” to live a fantasy of being someone or somewhere else. The hours and days and months of time spent escaping reality are … gone. It was a game that you paid to play with your precious time instead of investing it in yourself and others.

Who you follow determines where you go and where you’ll end up: toward the light or the dark. Toward people you will never meet and don’t even know you exist or toward real people and the One who loves you, created you, and cares about every detail of your life. Don’t be a naive and wandering sheep. Instead, follow the Good Shepherd who will always lead you to truth.

John 8:12 (ESV) says:

“Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” 

RESET HIGHER: Are you under the influence of influencers? Who do you follow? Who should you unfollow?