Why does someone follow me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter

If you’ve been a good adherent of many popular social networks, the phenomenon of random people following/adding you will not be new, whether it's on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook or other social media services.

Why would an unknown individual follow me? That's a common question social media users ask us a great deal. The reason varies and it also depends on the user following and the one being followed.

Generally, it basically boils down to personal preference, to some having more followers/friends is one of the major highlight of being part of most social media services while others value their privacy to the maximum and would rather keep the number of followers/friends to a minimum. While some users have the habit of adding/following and accepting all follow-up requests, others ignore follow-up request or reject out-rightly.

Listed below are possible reasons for a random/unknown person to be following you;

1. Mismatching identification

This is one of the most common reasons as to why users are randomly added/followed, it occurs as result of the user mismatching identification. This may occur either as a result of similarity in name to another user they intend to add/follow or facial/physical similarity.

2. They are Interested in your Posts or Pictures

Most of the popular social media services allow users to post a great deal of pictures and posts, it might be that one of these numerous posts and pictures caught the attention of a random user, through that the person might end up initiating a follow-up.

3. Sometimes, it's genuine

It is not always the case that unknown/random follow-ups on most social media platforms are initiated with hidden agendas by the initiator. In most cases an individual might be new to a particular social network and might feel that is the normal thing to do. The individual initiating might also be in need of new friends to interact with.

4. They desire more followers/friends

Using Twitter as a good example, a random user might initiate a follow-up if they feel you will reciprocate the gesture.

It can also be users seeking to promote themselves or products e.g. social media influencers and promoters. By following you, they have a higher chance of turning up in more individuals' feed thereby increasing the exposure of their personal brand and products.

5. Their account has been hacked

It is always a good idea to put in mind that there is a possibility to be hacked on the web. That is why taking our privacy serious is serious business. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a group of organized hackers infiltrating a person’s account. It might mean a virus, a bot, or another comparable type of software has taken control of the victims account and is triggering it to act independently. Most times these robots are developed to follow as many people as possible in hopes that they will get followed back. The victim accounts might be used for different purposes, which include sending embarrassing and unsolicited messages to other users, initiating a follow-up request etc.

Note: It is always a good thing to invest in our privacy and be security conscious at all times on the internet. We should ensure our passwords are kept safe and not shared with other people. Immediately you notice you have been hacked, the next point of call is to reach out to friends and the support team of that particular service.