You’ve probably seen something like this before on social media. Someone (or something) is trying to get your attention so that you click to their website. Recently, this sort of in-your-face advertising has been coined as “click-bait” and it is getting completely out of control.

      Historically, advertising has been the most efficient way of promoting your company or product. Focusing on attracting someone’s attention then directing that attention in a way that allows you to make money has become an application of psychology and social motivation. Last year in the United States, people spent more than $220 billion on advertising. A lot of this money was spent through ads on TV, radio, and in various publications. However, as more and more people use technology, internet advertising is become increasingly popular. 

      Advertising through the internet has a plethora of benefits. Creating colorful banners and animations is made easy by smaller, DIY-advertising websites. Internet advertisers also have the benefit of being able to create interactive and moving animations which are much more appealing than a stationary picture. Perhaps most important is the ability of internet advertisers to learn their audiences and target them in specific ways. If you’ve recently been shopping for shoes, Facebook will push you advertisements for shoes in hopes of getting you to buy even more. 

      On social media, there is another problem: the increasing use of insanely provocative pictures or text to lure you in. Some advertisements will sensationalize the smallest things in order to put you into a state of disbelief. As soon as you are intrigued and click on the banner, the advertisement’s work is done. This is becoming a problem because advertisers are so desperate for you to just click that one link that they will cross boundaries in order to get your attention. Extremely graphic images or provocative headlines that address you specifically are only intended to trick people. This is very different from other forms of advertising because as soon as people realize that they aren’t interested, they simply close the page. Instead of relying upon the actual sale of different products, many advertisers make their money from page views, meaning that they need to keep your attention for a very short period of time. 

     So, the lesson here is: if something seems too good to be true, it probably is! The best way to avoid “click bait” is simply installing an ad-blocker, but nevertheless, it is important for people to understand this advertising strategy, so they don’t fall victim to ruthless ads.