David Attenborough sets record after joining Instagram

Sept. 25 (UPI) -- David Attenborough set a new record after joining the social media app Instagram this week.

The Guinness Book of World Records said the 94-year-old broadcaster and natural historian set a new record Thursday for the fastest time to reach one million followers on Instagram.

As his first post, Attenborough explained his decision to join Instagram in a video Thursday morning.

"I'm making this move and exploring this new way of communication to me, because as we all know, the world is in trouble," Attenborough says. "Continents are on fire. Glaciers are melting. Coral reefs are dying. Fish are disappearing from our oceans. The list goes on and on."

"But we know that to do about it, and that's why I'm tackling this new way, for me, of communication. Over the next few weeks, I'll be recording messages to explain what the problems are and how we can deal with them," he adds.

Attenborough reached one million followers four hours and 44 minutes after sharing his first post. He had over 3.1 million followers as of Friday morning.

Former Friends actress Jennifer Aniston held the previous record for fastest time to reach one million followers. She reached the milestone in five hours and 16 minutes in October 2019.

Attenborough will appear in the new Netflix documentary David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet. In a first trailer for the film, Attenborough says the documentary shares his "vision for the future" for life on Earth.

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