Today’s society is based off of this game of likes, and whoever achieves the highest amount of likes, as well as outreach, wins. People will do anything to get there, even if it means tricking others in order to personally achieve this new found success. Social media hoaxes may seem harmless on the surface, but they can, and have proven to create significant consequences for the user. In regards to this game of likes, there is now a popular term called “click-bait”. This refers to an eye catching headline that’s intended to get you to click on the article, video.. etc. The headline may be highly misleading, but the overall goal is purely to push advertising revenue. Mega Youtube stars are known to follow in this trend, and Jake Paul is just one of the culprits doing so. Just one example can be seen throughout the “merch” these stars try to sell to their audience. To market the clothing lines, they will take various photo shoots along with intriguing headlines to make the audience feel obligated to buy.
for real these white sweaters go dumb… it’s so fluffy pic.twitter.com/Ar9IbnbfhN
— Jake Paul (@jakepaul) July 10, 2019
The same goes for the social media platform Instagram which can eventually generate a high number of likes and shares. In regards to Youtube stars, based off of brands these stars are working with, they may have to promote a clothing line, video or story in order to get there share of the paycheck.
Faux snakeskin is the real deal 🐍https://t.co/AFnbqoZ5uB pic.twitter.com/TXyscP1TNZ
— FashionNova (@FashionNova) September 9, 2019
This runs the risk of spreading a story or pushing a brand that may not be true or reliable, and these are just few examples of the rapid spread in misinformation. When we repeatedly share hoaxes and scams, we can become immune to posts that are real and important.