Follow-for-follow is the death of connection. There, I said it.

I woke up on Sunday to an onslaught of Threads praying to the algorithm gods. The place I’ve come to spend my mornings reading poems, chatting about writing, and supporting creative humans had been co-opted by the same energy so many of us left behind when we moved over from Instagram and Twitter.

Every person standing on their own little stage, screaming into the void for someone to pay attention—but when a listener finally decides to sit down, the performer ignores them and cries out for more.

What I’ve always struggled with most on social media has been the never-ending desire of the masses to connect to others without actually talking to anyone about anything. Whether it’s a post about brunch or a war on the other side of the world, it seems that everyone is more interested in proving they have something to say rather than actually saying it.

I think that’s why I hear so many folks lamenting the early days of the Internet. We used to take our time and care about the people we followed. We used to have conversations in the comments and scroll through photos and thoughts from the people we loved. Even when things started to lean towards businesses, you could still find corners where people were just being people.

Now, I’m lucky if I get to see one post from someone I know. The only exception to this recently has been Threads. So, to wake up and find the masses infiltrating the one place people have been showing up authentically in the last 6 months was a little jarring.

Don’t get me wrong, I have no intention of gatekeeping or deterring anyone from finding a community online. On the contrary, I think it’s a beautiful thing when people find new connections in unexplored spaces. I would love to see more folks engaged in meaningful conversations, uplifting one another for what they have to offer the world.

At the same time, the reality is that 100 people who care, engage, and support your work will always be worth more than 10,000 who look once and move on.

Humanity deserves time and space to foster meaningful connections. The only way we can get there is by actively choosing quality over quantity.

If you’re looking for like-minded people, interact with the accounts that bring you joy. Comment, share, repost, and quote their work. Ask questions. Compliment their creations. Share how it made you feel.

We need to bring back intentional consumption. Otherwise, we’ll all be stuck screaming into the void.

© Emilaea Woodwolf | Still Written With Ink, 2023