Internet Numbers are statistics and data points resulting from our presence on digital media platforms. In practice, Internet Numbers constitute our followers, likes, comments, or shares. The danger of internet numbers is not that they exist, or even that we care about (or prioritize) them. The danger (or the one we’re discussing here) is that we often trade things that will not garner impressive Internet Numbers for things that do, even if we feel more passionate about the option that would perform more poorly.

Many would-be artists, creative thinkers, and societal oddballs never fully realize their potential simply because of social pressure to trade their weird, nebulous passion for something that will perform well on digital platforms. We see a successful peer on social media and refuse to be told that correlation does not mean causation.

Internet Numbers can be helpful indicators, but for the majority of us they are little more than a bad way to spend our most valuable resource. It might feel good to gain a following, to see our digital content be consumed en-masse, but before we start down the path of obsessing over views, shares, likes, and comments we should ask our selves a few questions.

First, is the point of my passion to package it in such a way that others are more inclined to consume it, and second, is the method I would use to garner attention worth the side effects that will be inflected upon myself and my viewer. I can’t say for sure whether Internet Numbers will be helpful or harmful to what you’re building, but I can say they are often over valued, and stand a real chance at derailing our next passionate venture before it even leaves the station.