Compelling Content vs. Clickbait Content
There are different ways of distributing media content to consumers, and as our social media patterns change and evolve, the patterns of how we deliver and receive the content change as well. We’ve evolved from receiving memes through email chains (dancing baby — the first meme to ever exist in 1996), to liking pages and following people so that we get the content all in one convenient spot — our homepages and timelines. The evolution of the form in which the content is delivered has led us to here today: clickbait.
Not only have the ways that we receive media changed, the quality of the media has changed as well. This raises the question: “What’s the difference between compelling content and clickbait content?”
Clickbait changes the way we behave on social media by training us to do specific behaviours. It leads us to crave more online quizzes, articles about animals, and extra nonsense that, ultimately, contribute little to nothing in our lives. They’re just posts that capture your attention for the time you’re reading it, and it generates clicks and website traffic for the media company. That’s it.
Websites like Buzzfeed and Narcity are notorious for their use of clickbait to garner attention to their sites. Sure, it’s effective, but they only do so much. The material is simply there to inform you about shallow concepts that don’t really need much expanding or analysis.
For example, one of their Facebook posts from this week has the caption, “Let’s be real, cat ears are basically devil horns… CUTE devil horns.” It’s literally a post about cats… and when they look cute… and evil. Classic.
In comparison, compelling content invokes thought, and challenges you to think about what you’re reading and beyond that. It encourages you to think about the world around you and the society that you live in. It’s become more difficult to find this kind of content regularly on your feeds because clickbait culture has taken over. There’s also filter bubbles, but we won’t get into that right now.
You literally have to open your minds, and find the energy in you to research specific topics that need it. There’s more important topics out there than just articles about cats. I get the addiction though. I’ve been there, but after reading a few articles, I’ve realized there’s way better things to be doing with my time spent on social media.
A website I’d like to suggest is attn.com. They produce videos and articles about issues in the world that truly matter, and may not so much be covered in mainstream media. They go above and beyond to not only find facts from multiple perspectives, but it’s important to note that they might not include every single perspective, so further research may be required. They are highly knowledgeable about social media platforms and their audiences, and use that not only their advantage, but to the advantage of those that are paying attention.
Clickbait has programmed us, as much as we have programmed ourselves, to interact with material that are short in length. We can’t stand the thought of having to read something extremely long, even if it has information that educates us about the world around us. We need to be more conscious about this and consider the media that we’re consuming.
I leave you with this: pay attention. Pay attention to your consumption of social media. Pay attention to the issues in the world around you. Social media is a good starting point to find out about these issues, but take it upon yourself to burst your own bubble and face the reality. Use the internet with the purpose it serves beyond clickbait.
