Digital Lures: Clickbait & Endless Scroll

If This Headline Got You Here… Too Bad!

Sit back and prepare to be fooled. Today, we're going to deconstruct those sneaky mechanisms, those 'digital baits' hiding in the dark corners of the internet, playing on our subconscious. Because this world, like a magic mirror, both reflects reality and deceives us.

Part 1: Why Do We Click on Content?

“Clickbait”… As the Cambridge Dictionary defines it, it's something designed to attract attention on the internet and encourage people to click on a particular link. Simply put, it’s the bait on the hook used to get you to click on content! The word “bait” itself means lure. Click-bait: directly, a clicking lure.

So why is it so effective? Because clickbait preys on the weaknesses of human psychology, especially our sense of curiosity. The phenomenon known as the “curiosity gap,” or the space between what the reader thinks they know and what they suspect they don't, is the most crucial part of this. For example, information is deliberately hidden or left incomplete in the title, and we bite our nails wondering, “What’s next?” If we see a headline like “Famous actor did something live on air that…”, we involuntarily click because we can't resist finding out what that “something” was! After all, the brain dislikes incomplete sentences; it wants to finish them.

According to a study, 1 out of every 3 news articles published by major news sites in Turkey is click-oriented content.

Just think, one-third of the news you encounter is deliberately crafted to tickle your curiosity or stir your emotions! In fact, the BOŞUNA TIKLAMA (Don't Click for Nothing) Twitter (X) account, specifically created to pinpoint these traps with short, clear quotes, currently has 1.3 million active followers.

While the concept of clickbait seems new, its roots go way back. Before the internet, journalism had sensational headlines and exaggerated news. Sensational newspapers from the 19th century, what we called “yellow journalism,” were the forefathers of today’s clickbait.

There's an even clearer example: the headline “Life Found on the Moon” published by the New York Sun newspaper in 1835. Bat-winged humans seen through telescopes, crystal cities, exotic creatures… Everything from the content to the visuals of this series of articles, which lasted for weeks, was fabricated. This event, known in history as the “GREAT MOON HOAX,” achieved one thing: the newspaper broke sales records. In today’s terms, it went viral. But it was almost like a societal broken promise, sacrificing “truth” for the sake of money!

So What is Reality?

Reality, above all, is a type of information, and this information isn't something you or I can produce individually. It needs to be mass-produced. The path to persuasion about reality used to pass through urban legends, epics, and later newspapers and television. Now, it's through exactly what I'm doing right now: producing content that can capture your interest! How do they direct our interest? (Whispering) Through dark ways…

Part 2: Keep Scrolling?

Now, let's be honest: how many times have you said, “I'll just check Instagram for 5 minutes,” and ended up spending almost an hour? Or are you still scrolling on TikTok late at night, telling yourself “just one more video, really, just one more”? Don't worry, you're not alone. These platforms are deliberately designed this way. One of the most important tricks: the infinite scroll feature.

Infinite scroll is a design feature where new content automatically loads as you scroll down, with no end to the page. You don't get the chance to say, “The page is over, I'll close it,” because the page never ends! Invented in 2006, this feature is now present on all social platforms you can think of, like TikTok, Instagram, and Twitter (X). The goal is to immerse you in a continuous flow. As your finger glides across the screen, content keeps flowing, and you can't find a stopping point. This can lead to a loss of the concept of time; you look up, and half an hour has vanished.

Psychologically, endless scrolling constantly triggers the feeling of “What else is there?” Instagram and similar apps create a continuous urge to explore by showing you one post and immediately presenting another you might be interested in. Every time you refresh your feed, it's like pulling the lever of a slot machine; maybe a boring post, maybe a hilarious video will appear – in other words, the cycle of uncertain reward kicks in. And that's addictive.

Moreover, infinite scrolling doesn’t just capture the user's psychology; it also takes over their body: the finger gets accustomed to scrolling as a reflex, turning into an automated behavior without us even realizing it. When we have our phone in hand and have nothing to do, we start scrolling. Thus, social media use gradually shifts into autopilot mode.

At this point, it would be amiss not to mention a metaphor: there's a common joke in the tech world: “There are only two industries that call their customers ‘users’: drugs and software.” This point was also emphasized in the Netflix documentary The Social Dilemma, where it was stated, “there are only two industries that call their customers ‘users’: illegal drug dealers and software companies.”

Well, the similarities don't stop there. Every like, every notification injects a small “happiness shot” into our brain like a reward. And of course, once the effect wears off, we seek a new, higher dose.

Let's not forget that these giant companies work to maximize the time users spend on their sites. They design their interfaces accordingly, doing everything they can to make us consume as much content as possible... Ceren, this is all well and good, but if the designs are so manipulative, if there's a digital “bait” around every corner, what are we to do? Are we helpless? If you’re asking that, of course NOT, are you crazy? There's no such thing as a hopeless situation...

Part 3: How Do I Break the Cycle?

Friends, we've seen that whether it's a striking headline or an app on your phone, the goal is the same: to grab your attention, and if possible, to keep you there by fooling you a bit. This is an ad-supported economic system. So, is there a way out? Yes, but one shouldn't expect everything from PROMPT. With a little effort, you can find content that suits your tastes. The essence of it: to avoid falling into traps, we need to listen to our inner voice a little. If a headline forces you to click, if an app tries to keep you hooked, stop and say, “I won’t fall into this trap.” Don't jump at every shiny headline, don't get lost in every endless scroll. Remember, free cheese on the internet is only found in a mousetrap.

Yes, for better or worse, there are worlds at our fingertips, but it's up to us to stop that finger. See you in the next video!