Clickbait Christian Controversy
Have you seen the video? The one that everyone is talking about? It’s going viral for a reason: it’s very controversial. It seems like every church member has an opinion on it.
Which video am I talking about? It’s the one you think it is. And the other one that you haven’t heard of yet. And the other one that hasn’t even been uploaded yet. What I described could be applied to any one of dozens of viral videos by Adventists, by ex-Adventists, about Adventism, or about an incident that happened at an Adventist Church or gathering or other event. More often than not, these videos gain steam for the “righteous indignation” they stir up within the viewers. How could she or he do or say that?! Undoubtedly owing at least partially to our apologetic roots, Adventists are a prime audience for this type of fodder. Not only are we very staunch in our beliefs, but Adventists are known for feeling the need to be “defenders of the faith.” If there is a perceived affront to our core values—whether from within or outside of the denomination—you can count on Adventists having a response to give!
And that’s exactly what these content creators are doing—counting! For those whose livelihood is dependent on the number of eyeballs that land on their pages, they are willing to do whatever it takes to lure folks to their videos and get that count up. Making sensational pieces that elicit high emotions is one surefire way to do it. That way not only are people watching what you put out, they are likely to share and comment on it. This is also why you’ll sometimes see shorts with intentionally misspelled titles or some weird object or action inserted into a clip for seemingly no rational reason. Even angry responses are engagement. Hate watching is still watching. The algorithm doesn’t care how you actually feel about what you’re consuming. As long as you are interacting with it and passing it on, you are boosting that content’s search engine optimization (SEO) and contributing to whatever other metrics that flag a video as something people are interested in. The more time you spend on that page, the more likely it is that the interwebs’ black box formula will log it as worthy to be recommended to others to view as well.
While I know some people have convinced themselves that Adventism is the center of the universe, we aren’t nearly as interesting as we tend to think we are. However, we can get easily provoked to respond. Why else would certain content creators perseverate on our church? I know folks want to think it’s because we are so incredibly intriguing, but trust me, we aren’t. Yet, in the world of theological debate, no denomination is as fiercely defensive as Adventists are! And while viewers are stewing over the audacity of whatever they’re watching, they are counterproductively incentivizing controversial rabblerousers to replicate their actions. If a gimmick is popular, that just signals to the content creator, “make more of that!”
Although most people watching and leaving comments on these types of posts do so because they want to send a message of disapproval to the uploader, writing your sternly worded response in the comment section isn’t a deterrent. It’s reinforcement! This may hurt to hear, but that person isn’t genuinely interested in what you have to say. They don’t care about whatever persuasive arguments you may put forth. They have no intention to weigh your words or reconsider what they are doing. Why would someone stop making inflammatory content if they have a foolproof method of getting people to view what they’ve made?
So, what should we actually do when we run across videos (or posts or other content) that are clearly only designed to incite reactionary responses? Ignore them! That is the best and most effective way to discourage more of the same. If we continue to be a reliable source of revenue, there’s genuinely no reason to end their tactics. On the other hand, if these creators don’t get the responses they want, if there aren’t enough views or shares, they’ll move on to another feeding ground.
Instead, show some love to content and channels that are actually spreading positivity or contributing to society constructively. “Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things” (Phil 4:8). After all, by beholding we become changed. There are plenty of other content creators sharing things that are actually beneficial.
Here’s a shameless plug for my own YouTube Channel on brain health and neuropsychology. Hey, I could use a few (hundred or thousand) more subscribers! As it’s not my primary vehicle for income, I admittedly haven’t posted with the amount of regularity I could. But what can I say? I’m not invested in simply churning out frivolous videos to whip folks into a frenzy. Go check it out and don’t forget to like, share and subscribe! I guarantee it’ll be more worthwhile and significantly less stressful than getting worked up over the latest controversial video. And the next time someone shares one with you, and you have the urge to click on it … just don’t.
Image Credit: Markus Spiske on Unsplash
