Clickbait
"You will not believe what you will see when you open the connection!!!"
If this phrase is not strange to you, and if you were already reading it while browsing the Internet, you must have been really curious to know what happened, after all, it was so incredible. You couldn't resist clicking to find out more. Being curious is good, but you need to be careful not to be fooled by a click hunt.
But what is a clickbait after all and why sometimes can be dangerous for you?
A clickbait can be an Internet connection that promises you spectacular prizes without having to put in much effort. Most with images that make you confused or so crazy that it seems from the other world. Or something that starts with a sentence like the one you read in the title, and that really makes you flea to see what's inside.
As the name says, click-hunters are only interested in catching your attention on the Internet and uploading you there. And they can even be dangerous.
They may be lies, exaggerations or false news, designed to harm someone and make you feel angry for no reason. What if it's bait for you to spend money on things you don't need, like buying a spaceship to go to the moon anyway?
Often, someone is also advertising and who receives money for each person who clicks there. It can even be a trap to infect your computer with viruses - it gets sick, it stops working, or it can be to spy on the information you have there.
Don't think that only children are caught in the trap of click-hunters; most of the time, adults are also unable to resist them.
So here are some tricks that you can even teach your parents and that help you discover them before they hunt you down:
The headline does not give you great clues on what you will find there. It only promises you that you will really be amazed when you read what happened to your favourite artist or player, for example. It starts with anything like "You will not even believe it when you see this ..."
The photograph that illustrates it is so crazy that you even doubt what you are seeing. Or there are people with little clothes… and it's not even Summer anymore, how strange! It can also be a Giff (a moving image) that is a bit weird and makes you curious to understand what is going on there.
Or a contest or hobby with a title like "Share this connection now!" or "You won!"
And by the way: many exclamation points are also usually a sign that you have found a big click-hunt.
What to do then when you find one?
Before your finger is clicking faster than your brain, stop for about 10 seconds to think: is it a click-chase ?!
Did you click? Ah, tragedy! Too late ... you've already been caught in the click-hunting net. Okay, it's no drama. But it can serve you to think a little:
It was just a big waste of time because you didn't even see anything spectacular after all?
Do you feel confused?
Do you feel like doing what you're asked or told?
And above all: what could you have done more fun instead of watching it?
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