Vogue Williams, the model and DJ, has claimed that she disowned her mother after realizing that she indulged in a social media trend that she disagrees with. Speaking on the subject of retweeting birthday wishes and celebrating follower counts, Williams agreed with comedian Joanne McNally, her co-host on the podcast My Therapist Ghosted Me, that such actions go “against our beliefs and values”. Williams went on to say that her mother, Sandra, had received a glass of champagne for every extra thousand followers she acquired on social media. According to Williams, she told her mother that “you’re gone. You’re out with the turf” as a result of her behaviour.
In the My Therapist Ghosted Me episode in question, Williams and McNally discussed the trend of sharing one’s own birthday wishes on social media, describing it as hunger for attention. McNally suggested that such behaviour would cause people to unfollow the person who shared the post, while Williams added that she felt uncomfortable with the self-promotion.
The subject of follower counts also came up during the chat between Williams and McNally, with both women expressing their dislike of the trend. Williams, who is followed by over 800,000 people on Instagram, said that she had received balloons when her follower count reached 100,000 from the team at Bare by Vogue, her tanning product line. She said that she had not wanted to post about the balloons, and joked with McNally that the balloons would have caused her followers to think “what a prick” and unfollow her.
The trend of celebrating follower counts and broadcasting one’s own achievements on social media is a source of concern for many people. While some may see it as harmless and a way of keeping up with friends and family, others argue that the culture of comparison and competition can be unhealthy and harmful. Williams’ comments suggest that she is one of the latter group, and that she has a strong sense of her own values and beliefs when it comes to social media use.
Williams’ comments also raise the question of how we should behave on social media, and whether there is a set of standards that we should all be following. While some people might argue that it is a matter of personal choice, others might say that certain behaviours are unethical or inappropriate, and that we should try to steer clear of them. With social media now a ubiquitous part of daily life, it is clear that these issues will continue to provoke discussion and debate for some time to come.
