Sometimes feeling silly and adventurous, I pull out my phone and open Buzzfeed, a social media content provider that prides itself on featuring content that is “trending” online. Buzzfeed has formed a true media empire over the last few years, expanding its content into breaking news, long-form narrative journalism and informative videos.
Sounds like a fantastic source for intelligent discussions and vitally important groundbreaking news…Until you open Buzzfeed and see its “trending” content.
“11 Times Drake Looked Like A Dinosaur.” “9 Celebrity Tweets You Missed Today.” “21 Awkward Things That Happen On Your First Day at Hogwarts.” “15 Beyoncé GIFs to Get You Ready To Take On 2015.” “Beyoncé Was A Literal Angel At The Grammy Awards.” “Just a Reminder That Beyoncé Owned the 2005 Oscars.” “41 Albums That Should’ve Won Album Of The Year Over Beck At The Grammys.” I clicked on that one; it was just 41 pictures of Beyoncé’s album, “Beyoncé.” I’m not sure how the Buzzfeed staff feels about Beyoncé.
And if you’re bored reading about Beyoncé, Taylor Swift and “Orange is The New Black,” and in the mood to learn more about yourself, take one of Buzzfeed’s introspective personality quizzes.
“What kind of Bae Are You?” For the record, I’m a “Supreme Bae.” “Which 2015 Academy Award Nominee Are You?” Benedict Cumberbatch, although my friends always pegged me as more of a Michael Keaton. And my personal favorite, “Are You The Gwyneth Paltrow Of Your Friend Group?” Now, thanks to Buzzfeed, I know that I am not the Gwyneth Paltrow of my friend group. Thank God, I was worried.
This content that dominates the Buzzfeed homepage, particularly the “Buzz” and “Trending” sections, is nothing more than click-bait, content that is designed to attract readers to open and share through other social media outlets, such as Facebook and Twitter. Often times, this content is absolute garbage. No important information is shared and pop stars and TV actors are treated like gods.
Neatly organized into cute lists that are easy for readers to digest and centered on trendy celebrities, TV shows and movies, as well as popular internet viral content, Buzzfeed’s click-bait is the ultimate trap for readers. You click on it, scroll through list, take the stupid quiz so you know which letter in the title of “Frozen” you are (that is a real quiz, I’m the “F”) and Buzzfeed makes a profit from advertising, a profit that is made even greater ever time content is shared.
This is no accident either. By keeping careful track of what type of content gets the most clicks and targeting demographics very narrow demographics more likely to share content, Buzzfeed has engineered its site as a social-media-based-money-making machine. And they’ve made a killing, valued at about $850 million, according to Wired.
So what can the average CHS student do about this mountain of ridiculous content?
Remember that you control what is clicked on the most and most frequently shared. Before you click on that list of adorable dog GIFs, realize that you have the power to make something else trending, something worth sharing, so that others may see it and truly be enriched by its content.
Because, despite everything I just said, there is a tremendous amount of really good content on Buzzfeed, fascinating narrative stories about real people as well as critical breaking news. As a frequent reader of Buzzfeed, I have seen the massive dichotomy of content, the useless and the important, both seemingly endless in supply. And I remember, as you should, that it is up to each and every one of us to decide what kind of content trends.
If we the readers make the important content more hot and viral, you can believe that the people who run Buzzfeed will push it more aggressively than the barrage of posts about Beyoncé. Because their aim is not to provide terrible content, it is to make money. So make the important profitable.
And if you hate everything on Buzzfeed and are not a part of any of the narrow demographics they target, make your own content. Join the Buzzfeed community (yes you can do this) and make your own voice heard.
We are all in charge of the internet. Not just Beyoncé fans.