Measuring popularity with "likes," does it really show someone's impact?

Likes and followers

became a public way to measure popularity.

It's true that popular and shy people
have always existed.

I mean, just remember
elementary school and high school.

But popularity was implicit before.

Now, we can measure it.
And it's visible for everyone.

Everyone knows that so-and-so
has twice as followers as you

and that what's-his-name
liked this guy's post but not yours.

And you're not the only one who knows it.

Everyone knows that you're not popular,

that you're not gaining
followers or likes.

And this, especially for teenagers,

for whom self-esteem and identity
are crucial,

is terrible.

Those of us who used to be shy

know how hard it was
to not be popular in high school.

But now, this is visible
for everyone to see.

And for teenagers,
this leads to harmful motivations,

such as trying to gain followers
at any cost.

There are teenagers who have died

while trying to take a selfie
at the top a cliff.

They find motivation
in doing such reckless things

in order to escape the crisis

that stems from not having
enough likes or followers.