Clickbait

Online content strategies often used on social media platforms involve crafting headlines, captions, or thumbnails that exaggerate, sensationalize, or mislead. The emphasis here is on the word 'mislead. ' Some scholars argue that using the term 'bait' implies that an audience cannot come to a full understanding of the content without first clicking on it.

The phrase 'bait and switch' seems to be the most frequently used euphemism. A more neutral term, 'attention-getting. ' However, several content creators exacerbate this situation by pairing 'overly dramatic or mysterious' visuals or text with phrases like 'This one simple trick will change your life.

' What content creators promise in terms of intrigue and engagement does not always match their content's delivery, leading to disappointment and sometimes the good ol' trustworthy bait and switch. A 2014 study found that, on average, about 59% of the respectable news organizations' Facebook posts contained headlines that could be considered clickbait. On a less respectable end of the spectrum, 80% of the posts by sites like the International Business Times were deemed clickbait in the same study.