@freemo @snow
There are plenty of people to be social with, even having zero followers.
In the days of Usenet, the original social media that was never called that, there wasn't any such thing as a "follow" yet people managed to have conversations and debates... sometimes going on for months, all without anyone following anyone.
I think there's more to wanting followers than just wanting to be social... certainly it has to do with external validation, very nearly alluded to by snow... and yet, external validation comes without followers also.
@freemo @snow
Interesting thought experiment: Not knowing how many follow you.
Still be able to follow people. Still know how many and whom you follow, but not know how many follow you. The only thing I can think that affects at all is the ego.