I’ve been blogging for 12 years, which is crazy to think about.
Along the way, I’ve learned a few things about writing for the Internet, including the importance of titles and headlines. If you are going to get noticed on the Internet, you need to do it well.
A blogging friend of mine once confided in me that he’ll spend hours crafting the perfect title for a blog he has written–sometimes spending as much time crafting a title as writing the article itself. That is how important the skill has become.
But it makes sense.
In a world where billions of new pieces of media are being published every day, a headline may be the only opportunity you have to grab a potential reader’s attention. And your words are only helpful if they are read by someone else.
Choosing headlines and titles that can grab a person’s attention enough, to cause them to stop their lives to read what you wrote, is one of the most important skills for writing on the Internet.
That being said, I think it is important, from time to time, for all of us to take a step back and remember how hard websites are working to grab our attention to increase clicks and views. There are a number of different things a publisher can do to grab our attention—and not all of them are healthy for us as individuals or for us as a society.
For example, hysteria drives clicks (and viewers).
Manufacturing hysteria is not usually helpful or beneficial for a society. But websites and media outlets use it all the time to grab our attention.
It is, after all, more likely that we would click on a news article proclaiming the end of the world than an article reporting everything is going just fine.
I’ve been taking note of some of the headlines I’ve seen over the past few weeks. Here are just a couple:
Most Daunting Virus in Half a Century.
Virus Outbreak Sparks Toilet Roll Panic!
Bye-bye Handshakes.
Refugee Crisis Could Break the EU.
Investor Massacre May Be Near.
Mechanized Bots Amplifying Denialist Messages.
Bumblebees are Going Extinct.
Within each article, there is important news, and some of the information is certainly serious. Don’t misread what I am saying here.
But in almost every case above, the overstated hysteria of the headline is designed for one purpose: to grab attention and garner clicks.
Of course this might all be fine and good if the practice was not causing any harm. But the effect of constant overstated hysteria is not good for us as individuals or a society.
There are numerous studies connecting consumption of newscasts with anxiety—reflected in uncontrolled fear, physiological hyperarousal, sleeping difficulties, and fearful thoughts. Constant overstatement of the danger surrounding us is causing personal harm and division among us.
It is important to stay informed and I am not encouraging you to bury your head in the sand, ignoring world events. It is wise for each of us to read and stay educated on current happenings.
Additionally, I do suppose there is a chance, that at some point in the future, the world will end by some great catastrophe or political leader. At that point, hysteria will be warranted.
But at this point in time, from everything I can tell, most of the hysteria we see on websites and news channels is entirely manufactured for the purpose of grabbing attention and garnering clicks (or increasing viewership).
See through their manipulation. Your heart and soul will thank you for it.
Monique Y. Holmes says
Thank you so much, Joshua, for your very astute and compassionate observation. I appreciate the reminder of peace… I’m not in control of all of it anyway, Someone else is. I will just take care of what I can in my own little world and entrust the rest into his hands.
Jacobs says
I love all your articles but this here is GOLD
Catherine Domingos says
Thank you for stating what I have been thinking and seeing since this entire pandemonium started! The people need to keep calm and informed!
Sharmon says
I agree with everything except the world probably ending by some catastrophe or political leader.
Gayle says
Great article! I only differ with one remark; “hysteria will be warranted.” –Not really. Hysteria would only worsen the situation, whatever it is. Hysteria always worsens a situation, which is why they used to slap people who went into hysterics. Just saying… ;)
Kim says
So true!!! I recently read an article on how there is no toilet paper in Australia after all the wildfires and thought, “that is one thing I don’t want to run out of!”. Next thing I know, I was ordering a box of 48 rolls from Amazon. Was I worried before I read that article? Not one bit. Point proven!!
Susan says
Thank you, Joshua, for being the Voice of Reason. I haven’t owned a television since 1986 and don’t browse the Internet for news. If something is truly important, my friends and family who are still connected let me know. TV and news are the modern version of “bread and circuses”, keeping our minds overloaded so our intelligence and logic are not engaged. That’s the best way to keep the left hand from “seeing” what the right hand is doing.
Deb says
Great article to help us stay level-headed and clear in our thinking. Your articles and posts are very encouraging to me. Thank you!
Annette Sites says
Oh, you mean like Trumps tweets?
Judy says
Please don’t bring politics into this site. Half the people here may hate Trump, while the other half here love him. Don’t assume.
Bill Cunningham says
Absolutely
Julia Tavis says
This line jumped out at me: “Constant overstatement of the danger surrounding us is causing personal harm and division among us.” Sadly, there are topics I can no longer discuss with people I love. Division is the enemy’s favorite tool, and hysteria has created an environment where we must cling to truth like never before. Thank you for this excellent article. I plan to share it today.
Teresa says
Media literacy should be a compulsory part of all education, from Primary schools all the way to University. It’s such an important skill to have in the world today, where we are bombarded by information, lots of which isn’t factual to the least. Even newspapers drive some political agenda, and as long as news articles are written by human being, they can never be 100% objective. Nothing is ever black and white, and every action has a reaction.