Interesting for sure if it’s the same few accounts always doing it. I actually turned off follow notifications quite a while back because of that, but I hadn’t paid attention close enough to see which accounts were doing it. Very possible it’s what you say.
Discussion
I follow & unfollow & refollow because I get bored, offended, flooded or any other of a dozen reasons, then try again later 😅 Sometimes someone is sharing knowledge or imagery I don't want now, but then do want later. Those notifications are bad for the psyche. I believe it's always best to not over-concern oneself with the actions of others.
Yes, I also use unfollow/follow as well mute/unmute to manage my feed in some apps because they don’t have good tools otherwise. The “zap mining” behavior by some, however, is of concern to me because it is scammy and can be harmful in a real way, and it is fairly obvious once you look closely enough at the accounts doing it. Whether they are actual bots, or just one or two people with dozens of alts that they switch between, I don’t know. But they’re clearly not being good people.
💯 exploiting generosity is definitely reprehensible behavior that has direct impact on the individual and the community & should be questioned.
Probably no way to know for sure when an account is exploiting vs. genuinely engaging other than to just give them time to show their true colors. Kind of like real life I guess 😂