Substack has a problem...
Why do people post these stuff?? And people like reading them???
Hello!
I've come across a few… Problems on Substack.
Aside from the technical glitches and algorithm problems, I want to direct your focus to the people of Substack.
I've been here for many, many months and I think I got a pretty good grasp on what Substackers like and their ideologies. (And no, this won't be a post about how to get popular on Substack or anything like that).
It's my nature to observe people, in both real life and online. (To see what I can learn from them).
Not to mention, the social media part of Substack, has a fairly big impact on the mental health of the people who have integrated it into their daily routine.
At first, Substack seems like a pure, completely wholesome platform, full of bold, supportive, and quirky people - loving writing, art, stories and meaningful messages. But, stay longer and the strange parts of Substack, shimmering in the darkness, will start to peek out.
And today, I want to talk about that.
Most of the time, it's a good place to hang out and chat with nice people.
It's a peaceful, supportive, and growing community.
…Until your peace is abruptly disrupted by an inappropriate article from a complete stranger, which hundreds of people liked.
The strange popular content on Substack.
Some article which are popular, also gets recommended to people who have nothing to do with it. And we're left wondering, “Did I accidentally follow this person?” or “Did I click on this type of content before?”
But, we quickly find out that - no, we didn't.
And Substack just wanted to let us know, “Hey, this article is popular on Substack right now. Wanna check it out?”
I read in an article about Substack, written by the official staff of Substack, they said that- (which I'm paraphrasing because I don't remember the exact words):
The algorithm favors content with more engagement, the most. And not necessarily the content with the most likes.
This must mean that the algorithm favors the articles with the most amount of comments, restack with notes and shares, rather than the articles with the most likes. (Which makes sense, because people are forming a connection when they write a comment, putting more thought into their words, way more than when they click that heart-shaped button).
It's a perfect way to encourage people to compliment their favorite writers.
…Until you realize that the suspicious article that popped up in your feed has hundreds of likes and many people have left comments. (Oh, no…)
Problematic Substack articles that go viral.
Trying to calm down after the sudden jumpscare, you tell yourself that, “The thumbnail and title must be a click-bait. Surely the actual content has a lot of good and is meaningful right? (It's popular after all)”
Out of curiosity, you try to read it…
OKAY, NOPE, nope nope. Nuh-uh! There was nothing meaningful– even worse, the article was full of weird phrases, which I assume are supposed to be funny?
Are we just supposed to read it and go, “Haha, they made an adult joke.”?
Utterly disappointed, you then tell yourself, “Well, the people who liked it must be weirdos. Surely the comments must point out that this article is a problem. At least… People aren't encouraging this article, right?”
“…R-right?”
So you read the comments…
And find that it's full of people finding the article to be fun and humourous!
What the actual hell–
Is Substack… Full of people like this?
I'm not referring to or judging people who keep it real and address important things even if if it means talking about inapropriate things. I'd think they're actually doing good job. What I am talking about are articles that people wrote which holds nothing meaningful and are just for gaining traction. I've come these kinds of articles many times. And every time, they had a lot of likes (considering the fact that likes on Substack hold more value than the likes on Instagram or YouTube). And I can't help but be concerned a bit. Is Substack… mostly of people who like questionable content?
I mean, the boldness of the people writing such articles is respectable. But, again, more of these could ruin this peaceful and kind platform, (aren't there platforms just for this?).
There are also teens here, as the platform is meant for teens and older users. Some kids also sneak in with their parents’ account.
And younger people are impressionable and curious to learn and make sense of the world. They are going to click on the funny-looking article.
If you find that most of your readers are young people, I highly encourage writing about family-friendly topics. (I know you have access to all the stats to learn more about your audience).
Fine, you can not mind the kids, and keep writing about whatever. Because “Substack is meant to promote free-speech.”
But, come on. I don't think that's a good way to make use of free-speech. (It's a wonderful thing to have. Why not make good use of it?).
The future of Substack mostly depends on the things we choose put out there in the public.
Do we really want this platform to go in that direction? Do we want to attract people who are strange in a bad way to this nice place?
…I think not.
Hi! This is just my opinion, feel free to disagree. But, if you do, know that I'm judging you through your phone cameras. (...That was a joke– if you didn't catch that. Please don't sue me).
You may use this form of writing as a coping mechanism because you might be in a terrible phase of your life. In that case, it's understandable, but… Try to get back on your feet again. You're just attracting weird people by doing this.
I'm sure people will absolutely love to hear the story of a person who quit posting for weirdos, a lot more. (How do I know? Well, I've been here for a long time, remember?).
If you have no idea what I'm talking about or haven't come across any of this stuff, that's great. You're lucky. Some Substack publications are up to no good. (Which is why I wrote this article).
Luckily, other awesomely-written articles go viral too, which the writers absolutely deserve. (So there's still plenty of hope for us, don't worry.)
If you really agreed with this article, consider sharing this around to spread the message. Because the Substack algorithm likes engagement, right? ;)
That's all for now. Bye!
Thank you for reading! I hope you liked reading this article and I hope it was helpful. Come again next week on Friday for a ✨new post✨
- Harshini
I've definitely noticed the same thing, Harshini! Not quite sure why people would want to write about such topics, but it motivates me to continue write and publish what I'm writing so that there's more wholesome-ness out there!
It takes all kinds to make the world go 'round. I've been one of the lucky ones who hasn't come across anything "icky" so far. I mean, I have read posts from people who are being real about tough times, but nothing I felt was crossing any lines of decency. I am a big believer in free speech and sometimes writing is the only way that people can exorcise their demons. I'll reserve judgment until I see what you refer to.