The Rise Of Clickbait & Negative Headlines
… and hopefully their decline!
News used to be consumed via newspapers and a small amount of TV news channels. But with the rise of the internet in the 90s and 2000s and then social media in the last ten years, there has been a huge sea change in how we learn about important news stories that affect us and the world.
There are some positives in this as people receive news faster and it is consumed by a larger proportion of people than ever before. For example, a study showed that from 2.4 billion internet users, almost 65% of people learned of breaking news stories through social media platforms.
But there is a dark side to the consumption of news on social media and other online platforms and that is largely due to the need to stand out in a crowded market. The symptom of trying to grab the attention of readers is the rise of clickbait headlines and negative journalism.
The rise of clickbait
Clickbait headlines are designed to shock, promise a juicy story, and are more often than not negative in their tone — all in the pursuit of clicks. Many readers find themselves drawn into this style of headline because they shout the loudest and prey on their emotions and fears.
