Last week Sir David Attenborough joined Instagram, and 4 hours, 44 minutes later broke the record of fastest account reaching 1 million followers. The record had previously been held by Friends star Jennifer Anniston, when she first joined Instagram in October 2019.
Sir David, the famous naturalist, and TV/radio broadcaster joined Instagram at the age of 94, in hopes to spread information and ‘explore this new way of communication’ to help the public understand the climate crisis we are facing.
“The world, is in trouble,” said Sir David, in his first-ever Instagram post. “Continents are on fire. Glaciers are melting. Coral reefs are dying. Fish are disappearing from the oceans, and the list goes on and on.”
He continued to explain that for upcoming posts, he hoped to help and reach many more people to educate them on the current situation threatening the world, and what we can do to save our beloved planet.
Sir David Attenborough’s debut on Instagram, comes days before the release of his new book and Netflix documentary, both titled A Life On Our Planet.
Speaking with BBC Breakfast, Sir David exclaimed his joy after his new-found fame on the social media platform. He commented on how it gave him hope that the younger generation is interested in how they can change the planet for the better.
“It’s their world and it’s their tomorrow,” he continued. “I won’t be there, they will be. It’s theirs and if they aren’t persuaded that it’s important, we’re wasting our time.”
“I feel privileged that they should listen to what an old bloke like me is talking about.”
While at 94 he has been a veteran broadcaster for decades, collaborators Jonnie Hughes and Colin Butfield explained in the video’s caption that they would be assisting Sir David in managing his account.
“Social media isn’t David’s usual habitat,” wrote Hughes and Butfield “So while he’s recorded messages solely for Instagram, like the one in this post, we’re helping to run this account.”
The pair have also worked on Sir David’s new upcoming book and documentary.
David Attenborough: A Life On Our Planet, premiers September 28 in movie theaters and will be available globally on Netflix, October 4.
His book, A Life On Our Planet – My Witness Statement and Vision for the Future will be available from October 1.
We are all excited and waiting for the upcoming eye-openers, but until then, we’ll be binge-watching Sir David’s earlier shows here.
