Clickbait.

Thoughts on avoiding headline traps!

Sometimes I’m a sucker too. Here are a handful of things to consider before clicking:

Exclamation points!!!!!!!

If there’s a bunch of these, there’s a pretty good chance they’re more excited about you clicking on the link than they are at sharing a high-quality, thoughtful piece of journalism or news.

Everyone loves this.

Making you feel left out because everyone, or anyone who’s anyone, uses the tips or advice or knowledge they’re about to share, if only you click the link.

This will save you money.

Chances are high that you will A) not save money as a result of reading their article and B) you will lose precious minutes of your life you’ll never get back by reading their article.

You will learn something amazing!

Something about something being shocking or unbelievable. Again, that feeling of being left out. FOMO. The idea that a simple click will provide access to knowledge or inside information that others have…and if you don’t have, then you’ll be out of the loop.

Something about celebrities.

The inside scoop about the lives of the famous…and it’s being offered as a scoop to you if just click on the link. Then you’ll be better informed about the 14 Things Celebrity X Does Before Breakfast (and maybe that knowledge will help your own life out, yeah?).

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We all run out of time at some point. May your thirty seconds spent reading this not be a waste of your finite hours upon this earth. 😀