Words To Please Or Words To Move? (The Hidden Costs of Chasing Virality)
Box Cutter Co. Free Issue No. 72
Words are one of our most powerful tools.
Yet far too many people obsess over the numbers—subscribers, followers, likes.
Many are addicted to chasing metrics, losing touch with the power behind what we create and weave: Words.
Words go beyond simply describing reality. They shape it, twist it, distort it, and sometimes, they might even destroy it.
In this new digital era and social media spread — many seem to mistake metrics for meaning. (Maybe its a Mr. Beast-ification effect).
So many folks seeking some sort of approval-metric — mistaking virality for value.
Going viral isn’t proof of your work’s (or word’s) worth—it’s proof of the system’s hooks—designed to keep you chasing the next like, the next subscriber, the next dopamine hit.
For many, speed of spread is more important than substance.
The “what” of our words are lost in a frenzy for attention. The relentless racket for more clicks, more views, more shares.
The deeper message—if there is one—gets diluted in a rush to go viral.
Words for algorithms rather than impact. Visibility trumps value. Engagement over depth of message.
Are we addicted to attention over impact?
Are you posting online to be ‘liked’ or heard?
Are you willing to risk being ignored?
Sometimes real words and real ideas don’t cater to approval. They challenge. Provoke. Sometimes they even piss people off.
Words can conjure discomfort for people as these words force them to question the very narratives they’ve built their lives around.
Yet those are the words that stick. Those are often the words that matter. They are not crafted to appease the crowd—they are crafted to move it.
👉 Words fire up emotions and drive actions
The right words can inspire revolutions. The wrong ones can crush them.
Think about the speeches that altered the course of history—Martin Luther King, Mandela, Audre Lorde. Their words lit fires in people’s souls. But words can just as easily extinguish them.
👉 Words can connect us—or fracture us
Words can be a bridge or a weapon, depending on how they are wielded.
Through stories and conversations, we connect across divides. Or we shut each other out. How often do we think about which we’re doing? Or do we just keep talking?
👉 Words can leave scars that don’t heal
Once spoken, once written—they often can’t be taken back. Words shape history. They leave marks. Think about the names we give places, or when one people’s words erase another’s.
Look at a map, and you’ll see it—language isn’t just descriptive. It’s colonization. It’s dominance. It’s erasure.
👉 Words create identity—or destroy it
Words define who we are and how others perceive us. But just as easily, they can erase identity. When one group’s words dominate, they strip away cultures, history, and essences of another.
It’s not just erasure—it’s also theft.
👉 Words are tools of control
In this digital age, words spread faster, reach further.
An X/tweet can spark a movement—or end a career. A book can open minds—or close them. Words drive influence, for better or worse, and they have real power over our perceptions and choices. (elections anyone?)
👉 Words fuel illusion—or reveal truths
Love it or hate it, we now live in a world driven by media. As such, many often confuse what’s loudest with what’s true. Words can fuel the illusions we live by or tear them down.
Are you being led, or are you cutting through the bullshit and noise to find truth(s)?
Authentic Writing and Creating Matter
In a world where words can so easily be manipulated, twisted, or hollowed out, authenticity can cut through crap.
Authenticity gives weight to words. It’s the difference between chasing trends and saying something that matters. Something with some meaning.
Writing authentically can force us (or at least encourage us) to confront ourselves—to peel back layers of bullshit and speak from a place that is real, not rehearsed, contrived, or focussed on feeding an algorithm or search engine optimization.
When we create with some authenticity, words can (and will) resonate. They hit differently. They don’t just bounce off the surface — they sink in.
And that’s how influence is ignited—not from being loudest, but from being real.