Those familiar with the to-and-fro of social media messaging may well recognise the concept of "digital swarming," the observation that traffic on these platforms isn’t constant, but there are periods with large amounts of messaging activity interspersed with periods of relative quiet. Often, an issue arises that generates many messages and conversations, and then these die away again very quickly. In some ways, the digital swarm resembles the assembly of large numbers of independent creatures who join together to herd, flock, or swarm. In fact, studies of "biological swarming" behaviour can give insight into the reasons behind digital swarming. These insights may allow the social media user to recognise and understand the behaviours of those surrounding them in the digital swarm.

In nature, a swarm (or flock, or herd) occurs for many reasons and can serve many functions for the gathering beasts. It is often suggested that a key reason for a swarm is the avoidance, or confusion, of predators. Indeed, the "selfish herd" idea1, although now some 50 years old, remains a well-researched theory used to explain swarming behaviour. Basically, the imperative is to get somebody else between you and the lion. Other theories of swarming include factors such as resource protection, increased chances of mate selection, and joint problem-solving2. The root of this latter idea is that if you hang around with other birds and one of them finds food, then you’ll have a better chance of getting some yourself.

Thus, creatures swarm for self-protection and/or increased intelligence-gathering (access to resources). The question for humans in the 21st century is: How does all this relate to the digital swarm? In fact, this question has been the focus of several investigations into the uses of digital swarming3. Many AI enthusiasts have anxiously sought evidence that mass digital interactions are a good thing, which will enhance human intelligence by allowing real-time........

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