Clickbait and the insatiable need to know more

by | Tools for Users

7 tips for clicking around

by Cosette Rae, CEO, reSTART

“On April 10, 2012, over four million people used one of the Washington Post’s reading applications every day. On April 14, 2012, zero did.”

You’ve read the headline, but it doesn’t tell the whole story. In fact, you’re curious to know more. You wanna click. 

  • What happened on April 14, 2012 that caused such a dramatic change?
  • What occurred over a 4 day period that modified the behavior of 4 million people?
  • What is happening at the Washington Post? Did something happen with the Harvard Review as well?
  • Who else knows about this? Does everyone know about this, or am I the only one in the dark?
  • Where did this happen? Did something happen that I don’t know about?

This is a classic example of clickbait. Website developers use this (and countless other strategies) to entice a click-through. Basically, it’s a way to get you to visit their site, read their articles, buy their products and get you to spend more time interacting with their brand of information. For Internet users, this teaser (otherwise known as a time loss-leader), robs minutes, hours, and days from a person’s life. Every moment in pursuit of the quick tip, headline, story, picture, video, image, disaster, joke, product, game, blog, fact, etc., is one moment deducted from your day, and over time this adds up. Psychologists speculate that this urge to click may stem from fears of missing out (FOMO) or fear of being offline (FOBO) – which according to Larry Rosen, are forms of anxiety bordering on obsession or compulsion. Nevertheless, there are behavioral options at your fingerstips to reduce this powerful urge to click.

SUSTAINABILITY TIPS 

help for clickbait

to control CLICKBAIT habits

  1. Stop yourself. Managing anxiety occurs when we do the very thing our brain is telling us NOT to do. If you “fear” you may miss out, the anecdote is to miss out-to not engage in the click. 
  2. Tell yourself. There will always and forever be something trending, but right now, I’m choosing to focus on [insert your interest here].
  3. Ask yourself. By saying “yes” to this click. I’m saying “no” to [what?]
  4. Trust yourself. You know enough. You are enough. And, you’ll continue to be enough over time with our without clicking every statistic, fact, or trend which comes along.
  5. Select yourself. You’re in charge. Fight the impulse to be controlled by media advertisers and others wanting something from you. Be selective in what you choose to click.
  6. Time yourself. Perhaps you’d like to haphazardly browse, and that’s perfectly ok! However, you’ll do better by setting a time limit for browsing and stick to it using an online timer or app. 
  7. Be yourself. Living in the present is far more rewarding than living through what’s trending now, or in the future. Live in the now. 

When simple behavioral strategies don’t seem to work, it may be time to examine the underlying issues leading to problematic use. Inner strength may not always be found by clicking around, it often requires a mindful pause coupled with thoughtful introspection (minus the mouse).

#reSTARTYourLife