From Followers to Isolation: How Social Media Hijacks Your Brain
3. “The ‘Followers’ Fallacy” (Why 10K Strangers Left Me Empty)
I grew a ministry TikTok to 100K followers during COVID. But when I had a miscarriage, I couldn’t post about it—too “depressing for the brand.” My DMs blew up with “Where’ve you been?!” as I sobbed in the dark.
The math:
- Followers ≠ friends
- Likes ≠ love
- Views ≠ value
My wake-up call: I asked followers to share prayer requests. 90% responded with emojis or spam. The 3 who sent real needs? All over 60—the only ones who still treat social media as a tool, not an identity.
Try this:
- Prune your follows: Unfollow anyone you wouldn’t cry with at 2am.
- Create a “Real 10” list: 10 people you’ll prioritize IRL this month.
- Post “ugly” stories: Share a mess, then turn off comments and call a friend.
