By: Keith Kappes
Columnist
Carter County Times
Nothing is more frustrating to me than to watch a brief, exciting video on YouTube and then have it end just when the bad guy who mistreated someone is about to get his butt kicked.
That’s the exact moment we become “clickbait” when the computer screen tells us to see the rest of the story in the first comment or some other hard to find link. That may or may not show us the end of the video or story but we usually get a series of ads that never end.
That also happens with other online content like a misleading headline or a provocative photograph or social media post, each designed to encourage users to click on a link, often hyped by sensationalism or by withholding information or other gimmicks.
Unethical political marketers have developed effective means of leading us to half-truths about opposing candidates by baiting us to click on a video, hence the name clickbait.
The simple goal of clickbaiters is to create a “curiosity gap” wherein you receive just enough information to grab your attention but don’t get the solution, thereby forcing you click to find the answer.
Clickbait, the word, was coined in the late 1990s as the Internet exploded but the tactic it describes is nearly 200 years old, starting with the “yellow journalism” as big city newspapers battled for circulation (sales) with huge, shocking headlines about minor events or sensationalized stories of crime or scandal.
The next culprits were those shrewd publishers of “supermarket tabloids” who entertained us with provocative articles while we stood in the checkout line. The National Enquirer focused on celebrities and paranormal happenings like those pesky UFOs.
Clickbait exploits a psychological phenomenon called the “Information Gap Theory.” When we realize there is a gap between what we know and what we want to know, it creates a feeling of deprivation. Clicking the link is the only way to “resolve” that mental itch.
In my opinion, clickbait exploits the fundamental human desire for a good story, even a fake one. My advice is to be careful what you click for.
Contact Keith at keithkappes@gmail.com.
