Your Feed Isn’t Broken, It’s Just Small
A bubble wrap theory of social media, & why you matter more than you think
Most people follow somewhere between 40 & 400 accounts on social media.
Think about your own feed. You’ve got some news sources, maybe a few celebrities, coworkers, chosen family, niche interests, neighborhood drama, & probably a friend or two who posts nothing for six months & then floods your feed with vacation pics.
But no matter how curated your feed is, you’re only seeing a tiny sliver of what’s out there. Not because you're being shadowbanned. Not because everything sucks. (Although, it does) But because social media isn’t a massive public square.
It’s more like a sheet of bubble wrap, billions of people floating in little sealed-off pockets, each one seeing different things, at different times, based on what the algorithm thinks you’ll engage with.
Even when you do follow someone, you might never see their stuff
You could follow someone intentionally. You could even love their content. But with today’s “For You” feeds dominating almost every platform, you may never see what they post again unless:
They go viral
You engage with them often
Or they pay to boost it
The people you meant to stay connected to? Lost in the shuffle.
The breaking news you wish you had seen earlier? Buried under a million meme remixes. Or that thing that ticked you off enough to sound off in the comments that now you can’t escape.
That local issue that needs urgent action? Not trending. Not served. Not seen.
And if you’re mostly scrolling, not commenting or sharing, the algorithm takes that as a cue to serve you more passive content. Lurking gets you more lurking.
What actually makes content travel?
There’s this thing called the 90-9-1 rule in online behavior:
CONTENT CONSUMERS: 90% of people lurk. They read, scroll, consume, but rarely interact.
CONTENT CURATORS: 9% engage. They like, comment, repost, quote, tag.
CONTENT CREATORS: 1% create. They post original content, videos, essays, graphics, threads.
Here’s the thing:
The people shaping your feed aren't just the 1%.
They’re the 9% who amplify, boost, & push posts from one bubble into the next.
But even among that 9%, no one interacts with everything they see. No one sees all the posts from the people they follow. And most people who care about the same things as you? Probably never even saw the thing you’re frustrated no one is talking about.
So if you’re part of the 90% who mostly scroll?
Even a tiny shift, one like, one share, one comment, one forward a day, can actually be the difference between that post reaching 5 people or 500.
Rosie O’Donnell is the moment, & so are you
Let’s be clear: Rosie is an ICON. She is a LEGEND. She is the MOMENT.
She’s also adorably crossposting videos from TikTok, telling stories, following people back, & spreading comfort like the cool big sister/aunt we all deserve.
And if that brings you joy?
Engage with it. Share it. Celebrate it.
Don’t let anyone shame you for binge-watching Netflix, shipping Ross & Rachel (or not), or vibing with content that just feels good. You’re not on-duty 24/7. You’re allowed to be silly. To feel joy over small things.
Engaging with purpose doesn’t mean everything has to be political.
Joy is a radical act too. Laughter, nostalgia, storytelling, connection, that’s the soul food of social media. And sharing that keeps us human.
You’re not here just to consume. You’re here to feel something.
So if it makes you feel? Let it ripple.
Going viral isn’t the goal. Shifting the feed is.
Not everything needs to go viral on a global scale.
Sometimes, regional virality is enough, like when hundreds of people in your city see the same post about an out of control school board & start talking about how to replace them.
Sometimes, niche virality is the win, when a post gets shared in group chats & Discords & screenshot on Tumblr. Be the one who brings it to the attention of the person who can do something about it!
Sometimes, personal virality is what matters most, when someone tells you, “I saw what you shared. Thank you. I needed that.”
And here’s a little-known truth:
If just 3.5% of people who see a post engage with it, it’ll reach more people. That’s it. That’s the growth formula. It doesn’t take a flood. Just a slow, steady trickle of support. Most posts get 0% engagement.
Lurking is fine. But if you care, nudge the bubble.
You don’t need to become a content creator. You don’t have to go live or spill your guts or write essays.
But if you see something important, useful, true, or beautiful?
❤️ Like it.
📣 Share it.
💬 Leave a quick “yes.”
📩 Send it to someone you think should see it.
Because you might be the only reason it breaks through someone else’s feed.
And that’s how we grow the collective awareness needed to change things.
One popped bubble at a time.
TL;DR if you're just scrolling:
Your social feed = one tiny bubble in a sea of digital bubble wrap.
Most people engage with 40–400 others max.
90% lurk. 9% engage. 1% create. But it’s the 9% that push things into new bubbles.
You might be the only one in your circle who saw something, so share it.
Even one like or share helps push the content to more people.
If 3.5% of people engage consistently, that’s enough to grow reach.
Be a curator. Nudge the algorithm. The next bubble might just need you.
Today’s Assignment: Curate your feed, on purpose
If you’re someone who mostly scrolls & you’re ready to shift that just a little, here’s one easy move you can make today:
🔔 Go back to a few voices you actually care about.
Hit that notification bell. Subscribe. Turn on alerts.
This tells the platform:
“When this person posts, I want to know.”
So the next time you log in, the app will nudge you:
“Hey, so-&-so posted something new.”
You can decide from there whether to read it, like it, share it, or save it for later. It’s low-pressure. It’s intentional. And it’s a great way to ease into engaging with purpose, without changing your whole rhythm overnight.
The more we boost what matters, whether it’s breaking news, community updates, or a damn good point by our favorite influencer, the more power we have to shift the feed, one bubble at a time.
~AK