Mutuals
Etymology
A clipping of mutual followers or mutual follow — two accounts that each follow the other. It spread on Twitter and Tumblr through the 2010s, where “my mutuals” came to mean one’s circle of reciprocal follows.
noun · /MYOO-choo-uhlz/
People you and another account both follow — a reciprocal follow, closer than a stranger but short of a friend.
What it names
It names a distinct tier of online relationship: not a one-way audience and not an offline friend, but a mutual acknowledgment that carries its own etiquette and sense of belonging.
Example
I’ve never met her in person, but we’ve been mutuals for six years.
Related idea
A follower only follows you; a mutual follows you back, so the tie is reciprocal rather than one-directional.
See also