Clickbait: Internet content that attracts attention and draws visitors toward a certain place.
This method of attraction is proved useful for many people on the internet. Blogs, videos, articles, etc. title their content with an exaggerated title. People see the title and are intrigued to watch it. For example, clickbait titles could sound a little something like "We're Engaged!" or "He Left Me" or "I'm Quitting" or "After Reading this You Will Never Eat Bananas Again." Titles with a hook are good for attraction, but many content creators have taken it to an extreme.
YouTube videos are most likely to have a clickbait title. Shane Dawson, a popular YouTuber with over 7.6 million subscribers, is known for this. He likes to share his wild emotions with the camera. Shane has a very supportive community of viewers to help him out. However, often times he will scare them into watching his videos. He will title his video with things like "I f*cked up" or "The Truth" or "I'm Sorry." He "trolls" his audience into watching videos that are not about what the title claims it to be.
In his recent "I f*cked up" video, he began by prepping his viewers for "bad news" that he had to say. Then, he showed an edited compilation of clips showing how his cover photos (otherwise known as thumbnails) are made. The thumbnail are another type of clickbait. Shane will either make his typical, wide eyed face or look upset about something. His audience has voiced their opinion about the clickbait. They comment in the comment section of his videos about how his video titles scared them. He quoted one in his most recent video. The comment read "Shane I thought you were really sad. I thought something really bad happened." He understands that his viewers are concerned, but continues to create clickbait titled videos.
Another YouTuber that does this is Joey Graceffa. He has over 7 million subscribers as well, and has the same tendency with clickbait videos. He will occasionally film video blogs which contain what he does during the day. Almost every one of his vlogs have clickbait in them. Recently, Joey's boyfriend left on vacation for a couple of days. Joey made a video about it titled "WHY DID HE LEAVE ME!" which made a lot of his viewers think that the two were splitting. The thumbnail of this video was of Joey with a sad face and a crying emoji. Shortly after, when his boyfriend returned, Joey made another video with a picture of the two together with a ring. He spitefully called this video "IS THIS CLICKBAIT?". He mentioned that it was his audience's fault for thinking that they were getting married or splitting up and having so little faith in their relationship just because of the title. However, his clickbait always seems to work. He gets close to one million views on the videos with clickbait titles.
Even Facebook videos and articles have a tendency to be clickbait. We've all seen the titles like "You'll Never See This Coming!" or "Watch This Until the Very End!". The content usually comes from a website that often takes a long time to load and isn't about what the title claimed it would be.
Don't trust all of the titles that you see. Content creators like myself use titles with a hook so that their videos/blogs etc. can get more views and they can make more money. Some take it too far.
