Can clickbait be considered a legitimate form of journalism?
Clickbait, as defined by Google, is content, especially that of a sensational or provocative nature, whose main purpose is to attract attention and draw visitors to a particular web page. Clickbait often gets a bad rap because of the sensationalized nature of the headlines and those stories' lack of substantive content. However, this does not necessarily hold true for all clickbait. Does the existence and prevalence of click bait make for weak journalism? Or is such a gambit acceptable because it generates massive amounts of interest?
photo courtesy of www.wordstream.com
No doubt you've seen clickbait headlines such as “9 out of 10 Americans Are Completely Wrong About This Mind-Blowing Fact.”, “11 Common Cuddling Positions and What They Say About Your Relationship.”, and “14-year-old girl stabbed her little sister 40 times. The reason why will shock you.” as you scroll through your Facebook feed. Perhaps you’ve even clicked on a few, curious as to “What Happens Next” or what makes something so “Mind-Blowing.” Maybe, as you perused this article, you clicked on another that caught your eye. Before you knew it, the seasons changed outside and you’ve grown a pensive beard. Was that journey down the rabbit hole a waste of time or an enriching journalistic experience?
What might shock you, however, is that out of the three article headlines given as examples above (all of which are real), only two came from what are considered clickbait sites. The third was a headline of a CNN article. This particular article prompted very hostile reactions by its readers, who questioned CNN’s legitimacy as a news source, simply because the headline of the article was written in a way that is more consistent with clickbait.
Is there a difference, then, between a clickbait article and a clickbait headline? Is one more reflective of legitimate journalism than the other or should they both be discounted? Perhaps articles can be split up into two parts: the headline and the body of the article. Both of these can have clickbait-y characteristics, but does the possession of any of these characteristics make an article less valid?
Before one can answer any of these questions, one first needs to understand what distinguishes clickbait from other forms of writing by looking at its basic structure. Jonas Blom and Kenneth Hansen, University of Southern Denmark researchers studying the effect of clickbait as a lure, found that clickbait is often composed of a few things: empty pronouns, discourse deixis, and cataphor. Empty pronouns are vague, nonspecific words, used so that the reader has to read the whole headline or the whole article to actually comprehend what the article is trying to talk about. Discourse deixis is when the headline references something in the article, without giving too much away. Lastly, cataphor is when part of the headline references something later in the headline. These three components are used in conjunction not only to get more people to read an entire article, but also to get those same people to share the article in order to generate more page views.
This digital forum will explore three primary stakeholder positions on the debate over clickbait: clickbait should be considered off limits for anyone with journalistic endeavors; the use of clickbait does not preclude actual journalism; and clickbait's popularity more than justifies its use.
photo courtesy of www.wordstream.com
No doubt you've seen clickbait headlines such as “9 out of 10 Americans Are Completely Wrong About This Mind-Blowing Fact.”, “11 Common Cuddling Positions and What They Say About Your Relationship.”, and “14-year-old girl stabbed her little sister 40 times. The reason why will shock you.” as you scroll through your Facebook feed. Perhaps you’ve even clicked on a few, curious as to “What Happens Next” or what makes something so “Mind-Blowing.” Maybe, as you perused this article, you clicked on another that caught your eye. Before you knew it, the seasons changed outside and you’ve grown a pensive beard. Was that journey down the rabbit hole a waste of time or an enriching journalistic experience?
What might shock you, however, is that out of the three article headlines given as examples above (all of which are real), only two came from what are considered clickbait sites. The third was a headline of a CNN article. This particular article prompted very hostile reactions by its readers, who questioned CNN’s legitimacy as a news source, simply because the headline of the article was written in a way that is more consistent with clickbait.
Is there a difference, then, between a clickbait article and a clickbait headline? Is one more reflective of legitimate journalism than the other or should they both be discounted? Perhaps articles can be split up into two parts: the headline and the body of the article. Both of these can have clickbait-y characteristics, but does the possession of any of these characteristics make an article less valid?
Before one can answer any of these questions, one first needs to understand what distinguishes clickbait from other forms of writing by looking at its basic structure. Jonas Blom and Kenneth Hansen, University of Southern Denmark researchers studying the effect of clickbait as a lure, found that clickbait is often composed of a few things: empty pronouns, discourse deixis, and cataphor. Empty pronouns are vague, nonspecific words, used so that the reader has to read the whole headline or the whole article to actually comprehend what the article is trying to talk about. Discourse deixis is when the headline references something in the article, without giving too much away. Lastly, cataphor is when part of the headline references something later in the headline. These three components are used in conjunction not only to get more people to read an entire article, but also to get those same people to share the article in order to generate more page views.
This digital forum will explore three primary stakeholder positions on the debate over clickbait: clickbait should be considered off limits for anyone with journalistic endeavors; the use of clickbait does not preclude actual journalism; and clickbait's popularity more than justifies its use.
photo courtesy of www.voletic.com