As social media platforms perpetually update our numbers, so too do we perpetually check our numbers. And when we check, what exactly are we looking for? What do the numbers mean and what do they mask? Is it an assurance of belonging? Legitimacy? Being desired? And as we check and keep checking our numbers, we have to ask: Who do these numbers actually serve in the end? How is our chain being yanked when these numbers feel like they signal our worth? Who ultimately benefits when we are driven to post more, engage more, check more? Like a vine being trained by the trellis of social media, so
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