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It is perplexing sometimes when one posts an announcement of the demise of a loved one and a string of people ‘like’ the post. One really wonders what it means to ‘like’ or ‘follow’ strangers on social platforms to the extent of ‘sharing’ their lives with them

Masembe Tambwe Correspondent
Good morning people, hope you have all woken up to a bright Wednesday.

Difficult as it is to admit, but I think I have to say that I started to sprint before I learned to crawl in this so called digital world of Facebook, Instagram and the string of other social media platforms.

Even at the start of the mobile phones era, while most people were showing off their BlackBerrys and the wonders they could do, I was busy fiddling with Nokia torches! I am quite sure that I jumped on the Facebook bandwagon way too late.

I say this because it took a really long time for me to grasp the usage of the LIKE button. Even today, I really can’t say that I have mastered it and many a time I am confused when I see a person posting an announcement of the demise of a loved one and I see a string of people ‘liking’ the post.

The thing that has completely left me helpless is this thing called FOLLOWING and acquiring LIKES. I have pestered numerous people to try and explain this concept to me, but either I am simply too old fashioned to grasp these new trends or I am not the brightest crayon in the box.

I am really trying to convince myself that I don’t fall in the latter category. I am still very new to Instagram or Twitter for that matter and thus don’t have a lot of followers. So the little I was able to gather about this concept called following is two sided, one business oriented and the other with social inclination.

Basically, the business one is about having a bigger reach of your products where you garner as many through your postings to better market your goods. The other part is about a sign of popularity and display of clout. Now let me get into the gist of what the column is all about today.

Of late I have noticed some pretty “dangerous” lengths that some people are going to either garner newly found fame or maintain it. I think I wouldn’t be wrong to say that every now and then people like to be under the spotlight, but some of the lengths that people go through to achieve this can sometimes be downright despicable. I will share with you some classic ones that I have without divulging the names of these individuals.

Someone recently shared with me a post of an individual who had plastered a number of photos of her past “conquests” and wanted people’s opinions about who had best suited her.

When I first saw the post, my jaw literally hit the floor because if this is what it means to be a socialite, then I would rather remain behind the curtains. Another post that literally blew my socks away was about the announcement of a small child who had been picked up on the street.

When questioned about the whereabouts of his parents and where he was going, he said that he was walking all the way to Mbeya to see the sighting of the eclipse.

This nincompoop then gave out his mobile number and was quick to welcome people to follow his page on Facebook. I mean, who does that? The examples are many, some classic, some out of the box.

There are those who take selfies in skimpy attire and ask their audiences whether their rear ends are round, even and attractive and then there are some who post the attire they are going to don the following day so that others can copy. There are some who provide their itinerary, such that the following is not only virtual but physical. The aim of this article isn’t to speak ill of attention seekers or banish the famous.

No, it is about taking precautions, because there are many people out there who are not happy to see you standing where you are. While I don’t know what it means and takes to be a socialite, but one thing is for sure, like my boss likes to say, “there are many ways of skinning a cat,” you can still have a following without degrading yourself.

There is nothing wrong to be famous, but be famous for the right reasons and ways. Ciao. — Tanzania Daily News.