We are without doubt in a new “Wild world” of social media where friendships are built, and connections are made online. The social media space is now a big part of our lives, helping us connect with family, friends, “frenemy” globally. It’s an awesome space for communication and staying updated.
However, this new reality has become the driving force for some crazy acts by people who just want to get noticed and attract followers. Below are some of the crazy steps they take just to get followers.
(1) GOING THROUGH MAJOR SURGERIES
Just to fit into a social circle. Imagine undergoing extreme physical operations solely for social media visibility. This has almost become a norm now for most content creators. They probably believe that if they look like Beyonce, people would follow them, so they go under the knife to recreate themselves.
(2) PRETENDING TO BE IN RELATIONSHIPS OR MAKE UP LOVE TRIANGLES
Just to get attention. Some of them go the extra mile of acting like they are romantically involved with someone when they are not or they invent complicated romantic situations and post it on their social media pages, just to evoke reactions from people.
(3) BUYING FOLLOWERS
Paying for fake accounts to boost the number of people following them on social media. It’s like getting not-real followers to make it look like more people are interested in their posts. For example, some would spend money to make their follower count go up, even though those followers aren’t real.
(4) PERFORMING REALLY CRAZY PRANKS
To shock people and capturing their reactions on video to share online.They do extreme pranks that could claim lives, all for the sake of making entertaining videos for the internet. For example, doing a prank where they try to set a house on fire or create a funny, unexpected situation and record how people react.
(5) Getting Involved in challenges that are controversial, like joining or making challenges that might make people uncomfortable or question what’s right and wrong. For instance, making a challenge that involves doing things that could upset others or go against common values, all for the sake of getting noticed online.
(6) CREATING MADE-UP PERSONAL CONFLICTS
To make things exciting and interesting. They invent stories or problems to grab people’s attention and keep them curious about what’s going on in their life. For instance, pretending to have a big argument with a friend just to see how people react and engage with their posts online.
(7) CLICKBAIT THUMBNAILS
Making thumbnails that trick people by showing exciting or exaggerated images, trying to get them to click on content that might not match what’s inside the video or article. They use pictures that grab attention but don’t really represent what the content is about.
(8) Telling very personal or surprising things about themselves to grab attention or make people react. Like sharing really private information with a lot of people, hoping they will notice or respond to what they’ve said. This is usually done to seek validation, sympathy.
(9) ACTING FOOLISHLY IN PUBLIC
Just to get attention online. They try to do something embarrassing in front of others, hoping people will share it on the internet for everyone to see. For instance, pretending to dance awkwardly in a busy mall and recording it to post online.
(10) 24/7 LIVE STREAMS,
They are constantly showing everything that happens in their life, making it hard to tell where their private moments end and their online presence begins. They share every detail of their daily life through live broadcasts, and now try to blur the boundaries between their personal privacy and presence on Social media.
The crazy strings they pull above, most of the time doesn’t guarantee them followers, yet they blindly do it and end up losing valuable relationships with their friends, colleagues, tainting their image and some even end up losing their lives because of the quest of social media fame.
–Promise Babatunde
