Digital media plays you like a fiddle more than you want to believe
Working in digital media is a privilege for a few reasons. The biggest one is this: Knowing the psychology behind what creates a clickable headline.
Know how long, on average, it takes to just make a headline click? Often between 10 and 15 minutes, and at least three people look at and approve it.
Sometimes, it takes longer if the “ingredients” for a clickable headline aren’t there. That said, it could take up to 30 minutes in rare circumstances.
Why?
Because great headlines often contain one or more criteria:
- Mystery
- Emotional trigger words
- Ideal length, especially to appease an algorithm
Earlier this week, I stumbled across one headline that went something like this: X Politician said the quiet part out loud. And he’s right.
While I’m 100 percent sure I would have disagreed with whatever that “quiet part” was, I laughed out loud. How many times have I seen “quiet part out loud” in a headline? I’ve lost count.
We need to have a conversation about emotional trigger words
About three months ago, I was talking with a gym friend whose worldview matches mine (and probably yours). Like me, they see through the media B.S., even if they can’t confirm it in the same way I can.
Still, they’re a smart, deep thinker, who knows that headlines in digital media contain triggers to bring out the following emotions in you:
- Fear
- Anger
- Hatred
- Tribal Validation
- Moral Outrage
Also like me, they also realize that when the media, through their headlines, draw any of the above emotions out of you, you’re playing right into their hands.
Why?
Well, we’re all passionate about something, and oftentimes, that “something” falls into the political, economic, or philosophical realm.
I have friends on every side of the political spectrum who are good people. Yet the second they see a headline on the news, or atop an article that pops up on their phone, they’re left frothing at the mouth and saying things that are so negative, I’ll let you fill in the blanks.
