Clickbait is a name given to sensationalized headlines which are design to encourage you to click a link to view a video, image, or article. The creators use clickbait to drive traffic to their site and increase their ad revenue, but they often utilize inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise questionable information to encourage you to click.
While most clickbait is harmless, sensationalized clickbait headlines can be dangerous when they link back to fake news stories, misleading statistics, and phony scientific findings. Sometimes the content of these stories is so outrageous that it is hard to believe that anyone could trust them. Think about it. Have you ever shared a headline without actually reading the story linked to it?
The selection of articles listed below address the psychology behind clickbait and some of its inherent dangers.
Sometimes clickbait does not display such obvious characteristics as those discussed in the Understanding Clickbait infographic. This is especially true for clickbait claiming to report scientific findings or statistics. The below video from TedEd will explain how to spot clickbait using the context from within the article itself.
Video Source: TEDEd | Jeff Leek & Lucy McGowan | June 6, 2019
The age of social media has changed how we create and share information. Today, we often post and share content with the goal of increasing our number of views and "likes." In the process, we can unintentionally engage in clickbait tactics. In this TEDx talk, Cesar Cervantes addresses how engage your users without resorting to clickbait.
Video Source: TED | Cesar Cervantes | TEDxAliefStudio | July 2021
660-248-6271
library@centralmethodist.edu