Lurkers and Free Riders (W3)

I thought the third discussion topic from this week would be a good place for me to start my week's blogs. It also hits home for me.

Free riders, as Clay Shirky describes, are people who benefit from online content while not contributing themselves. "Lurkers," people who observe and rarely or never interact with other users, can be lumped into this category. While they’re sometimes criticized, I think lurkers an inherent part of how the Internet works, now more than ever.

I’ve always been more of a lurker. I used to post stories and photos on Instagram (see my second blog post), but over time, I started feeling anxious about like counts and who was watching. That pressure eventually made posting feel more exhausting than rewarding. These days, I mostly scroll through Reddit, X, and YouTube, especially to follow esports and professional wrestling. Even on Reddit, where I’ve posted a bit more, I’ve probably made fewer than 50 comments in total.

In my experience, lurking happens both consciously and unconsciously. Sometimes I actively choose not to comment because I don’t feel I have anything new or valuable to add. Other times, I just scroll for long stretches without even thinking about participating. It’s passive, yes, but it’s still engagement.

I don’t think lurkers are a problem. They're a necessary part of the online world - not everyone is meant to be a creator or frequent contributor. Lurkers are the quiet majority who keep content circulating, boost views, and help shape trends behind the scenes. 

In the current iteration of the Internet, participation is measured by visibility. It’s easy to overlook passive users. But just because we’re not always posting doesn’t mean we’re not present. Lurking is a different kind of participation, one that reflects how people navigate the Internet in real, human ways.

Comments

  1. Content CreatorJune 1, 2025 at 12:10 PM

    This is a great take on the lurker experience! This week I find myself looking closely at not only my personal accounts but those of other creators too. I often wonder to myself about how many likes/views are lurkers or have the likes/views been bought by the creator. I have yet to figure out the distinction.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. JackJune 2, 2025 at 1:23 PM

      Thank you!
      Viewbotting is such an interesting thing. It can happen to a creator without their consent and they will still get blamed for it. How is that fair?

      I have wondered about the lurker versus viewbotting engagement myself a few times. Like, there's no way *that* creator got *that* many likes or views, right?

      I feel like there needs to be a new statistic that people can look to for authenticity. For example, the podcasters that I listen to on a regular basis have stated that on Youtube, likes and views aren't the biggest thing anymore. Rather, it's minutes watched (if memory serves correct).

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

1st Memory of Social Media (Post 2)

 Oh man this is throwing it WAY back to my time in 7th grade (2011/2012). Facebook dominated 6th grade and was still quite popular but Instagram was on the rise. The really fortunate kids in my grade had iPhones. I was not one of them so I had to settle with my iPod.  I remember being SO hesitant and afraid to make an Instagram account. The thought of making an account, sending friend requests, waiting to see if people considered me their friends, and then MAYBE posting photos or videos of myself was nerve-wracking. This was different to Xbox Live and video games where people gathered to play specific games (which I was much accustomed to); this was connecting with other people for connection's sake. What would I post about? How would people react? How many likes would I get? Eventually, I did muster up the courage to send friend requests. I kept it to mainly the people I interacted with the most at school and waited for others I didn't know to send me requests first. As for m...
Read more

Bruns (2011) thoughts so far (W2 Reading)

I'm halfway through reading the Bruns (2011) article and before I started the C5C half of the article, I felt the need to make a blog post about it. It's quite incredible (to me, at least) that this article was written in 2011. Reading through the first half,  I felt like it was written within the past 5 years. Now, more than ever, I believe the Internet users are true "produsers." There's so much opportunity now for collaboration on anything and everything! I wonder if Bruns (and others) had any idea of what potential Web 2.0 and produsers had back then. How would Bruns react to reading his article now? One part I really liked in the first half of the article was on page five. Bruns (2011) writes, "it [produsage]  also has historical connections to pre-commercial models of scientific research and other ideals of open intellectual engagement in academia as well as the civil society beyond." This quote stuck out to me. What does the Internet and produsage...
Read more