The triumph of emptiness: when “clickbait” sets the standard
Temps de lecture/Reading time : 2 minutes
In today’s digital ecosystem, it has become almost impossible to escape clickbait videos — those pieces of content that promise the world in their titles and thumbnails but often deliver a disappointing, hollow, or even misleading reality. Simply browsing YouTube, TikTok, or Instagram feels like crossing a field of screaming sirens: “He DID THIS for $1000?!”, “This secret NO ONE tells you!”, “I did this exercise for 30 days, here’s what happened…”
But what if this trend is becoming toxic not only for viewers but also for the creators themselves?
The culture of algorithm survival
To understand the phenomenon, we first need to talk about the algorithm. Platforms reward attention, watch time, and click rates. The result: to hope to stand out in an ocean of content, creators almost have no choice. They have to oversell themselves, exaggerate, provoke, and manipulate expectations to attract clicks.
It’s a vicious circle: the louder you shout, the more you’re heard — until everyone is shouting, and you have to scream even louder to stand out.
The end of sincerity?
The real problem is that this race for sensationalism slowly but surely kills sincerity. You can no longer say things simply. Good content, well explained, well constructed? It will be ignored if it doesn’t promise to “change your life in 3 minutes.”
People no longer watch videos to learn or reflect but to be shocked, amused, or scandalized. And when the promised emotion doesn’t come? They skip it. Move on to the next artificial dopamine hit.
A betrayal of the creator-audience bond
Perhaps worst of all is the loss of trust. When you click on a video expecting an incredible revelation and end up with a bland version of content you’ve seen a thousand times, you feel betrayed. Gradually, we stop believing in titles, creators, and platforms.
And this loss of trust runs deep. It damages what made the early internet beautiful: sincere curiosity, authentic sharing, raw passion.
Is there an alternative?
Fortunately, not all creators fall into the trap. Some resist, offering honest videos with fair titles, no false promises. But these voices are often drowned out by the general frenzy. It’s also up to viewers to decide what they want to encourage.
By refusing to reward clickbait traps and valuing content that takes the time to say something true, we can rebalance the system — at least a little.
Clickbait videos are a symptom of an internet sick from its own logic: attention at all costs. They give the illusion of intensity but dig emptiness. It’s time to restore value to simplicity, nuance, and truth. Because when you oversell yourself too much, you end up worth nothing.