There isn’t much I hate more than clickbait.
What is clickbait you might ask?
Clickbait is the idiotic, misleading, and utterly stupid content or header of content that attempts to bait you into clicking.
In short, it’s what the title of all the articles your parents share that read: “His daughter spelled the word poop in class, you won’t believe what he did after the teacher told him”
Yes.
Those stupid articles.
They sensationalize anything and everything just to get a click and are never worth the clicks they generate.
Now let me be clear, I know exactly why websites like Buzzed and HuffPost post these articles. Blogging or writing articles online has to attract clicks because writers are paid per click by the sites that employ them. This is why headlines and articles are geared specifically to try and get you to click them.
It doesn’t matter what is actually written, how inaccurate, common sense, or exaggerated, all that matters is that you click and share. Which unfortunately is done so often it fills 75% of what you see on social media.
“When you see what these kids are doing you’ll never use forks again!”
“You won’t want to eat again after you see these carrots!”
“This mom washed her kids clothes in milk, the reason is GENIUS!”
This is what the internet has done to “journalism” in some realms. It annoys and disgusts me as a writer, I find it incredibly lazy and deceitful. Especially because the articles typically lead to even worse literature than the headline.
It also annoys me as a person, not because I read the articles, I avoid them at all costs and don’t click or read any type of article with a clickbait headline anymore. The annoyance comes in that even though I don’t read them, I see them everywhere. Because people do click, people take the bait, and then they share it all the time.
And it needs to stop.
No article is worth sharing if it has a clickbait headline. Even if it is well written or impactful, which they never are, it still doesn’t warrant the spread of such internet drivel. So take a good long look in the mirror, search your feelings you know to be true, and next time you come across a clickbait article you know what to do: Ignore it like it’s the speed limit.
So there you have it, you won’t believe what I write about next.