What's The Point...of Emotional Clickbait?
Your favorite content creator has dozens of funny and relatable videos. Their life seems perfect. They know so many people. They are being invited to exclusive events. They are sponsored by big brands.
Anyone who is coming up with a new product or service wants an Influencer to boost their sales. Before you know it, the Influencer is meeting celebrities, living in expensive apartments, and eating exquisite food.
But that is when their followers begin to dwindle. They are no longer relatable to a large population of people. There are some who like the ‘rags to riches’ story, but chances are the Influencer was already wealthy to begin with, based on the large villas they shoot videos in, and the props and equipment they use. So it is usually a ‘Rich to Richer’ story.
So how can one keep their followers fixated on their channel? By exploiting emotions, of course.
One minute, the Influencer is going to a fancy event, and in the next, they set up a “crying video”.
The Crying Video usually includes them sitting in plain clothes, with minimal makeup, and a sob story about either their health or a recent breakup.
While the health reason could sort of be true, most of the time, they are exaggerated. They’ll probably admit to getting surgery but won’t say what kind. It could be cosmetic for all you know. And even if they admit to an illness, who is actually checking their medical reports?
Then there is the breakup. Is it the third or the fourth one in 3 months? They were probably never in a relationship to begin with, but their partner is a fellow model or content creator, and they just wanted to collaborate on a project. But the subscribers are conned into thinking that the relationship is real. That they look so good together. If their families are involved, then it must be a genuine relationship.
But a few months later, the contract ends, and suddenly the Influencer is sitting on their bed, crying about heartbreak and telling their viewers not to troll their partner because the breakup was mutual and there are no ill feelings.
All of this is sobbed out. Their faces red, but with evident makeup, the lighting perfect on them, their hair combed, and their clothes clean.
But they are supposed to give out the aura of being a mess. There is a lot of weeping, and close up on the tears. In case you missed it, they even turn their head in just the right direction so that the ring light hits that one drop running down your eye.
The comments are full of sympathy and love. After all, people who are not selling emotions for content are genuine. They don’t know yet that they are being played.
Their favorite content creator is crying after spending the entire week on vacations and fancy parties. How dreadful!
The follow-up video is sometimes even worse. It’s a ‘Thank You for increasing my views’ video more than anything.
The Influencer will still be teary-eyed, but there is a small smile on their faces. It is because of you, generous viewer, who commented and watched their video and helped them earn more money.
The sad part is that others may be going through familiar situations. They might be facing deplorable circumstances but have to keep going and find solace in watching the content creator’s videos.
They may comment about it under the Influencer’s post, to show support, but they are ignored. The spotlight has to be on the Influencer after all. The only comments that are pinned are the ones that commend the Influencer’s bravery.
A content creator is crying because they haven’t earned their monthly earnings target yet. The people who comment are worried about whether they will be able to pay their next bill.
So what is the point of watching these fake crying videos? They are hardly ever real or genuine. In fact, before commenting or liking these videos, why not wait for a day or two? If the sadness is real, their next post would not be them prancing around in expensive restaurants and then adding a feeble caption about having this filmed weeks ago.
No, it wasn’t. You threw a party for yourself after you earned some extra bucks from posting that ‘fake crying’ video.
It’s time we use social media channels to be entertained instead of being baited by Influencers who want to use the platform to exploit us and play with our already fragile emotions.
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