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To Click Or (Not) To Click? Exploring Linguistic Strategies To Generate Sensationalism And Captivate Readers With Irresistible Clickbait

Abstract

In today's world, there is a tendency to present information in a way that seeks to provoke strong emotions or grab attention, often without regard for accuracy. For a considerable period of time, sensationalism has been a persistent presence. Upon closer examination, it becomes clear that there is a significant amount of inaccurate information or an excess of misinformation among those who are involved in producing and consuming news, especially when it comes to the concept of sensationalism. Despite being aware of the prevalence of sensationalism in news, especially in headlines, people still opt to click on and explore such content. This study investigates the language techniques and strategies employed by popular online media platforms in Albania to captivate and engage their audience, enticing them to click on and consume their news articles. The analysis will begin by looking at the various definitions of sensationalism and clickbait provided in scholarly sources, as well as their evolution in the media. Next, we will focus on how online media identifies and utilises certain linguistic techniques. For this study, we monitored five reputable online media platforms over a period of seven days. The objective is to gain a deeper understanding of the specific language techniques employed by journalists to engage and captivate their readers. Based on previous field research, we categorised strategies and approaches. The findings unveil fascinating revelations about how media places a higher emphasis on markets and audiences rather than focusing on content and accuracy, employing various strategies.

Keywords

exaggeration, attention-grabbing, language technique, writing technique, analysis of writing style, headline

Authors

Dr. Albana Shijaku

Universiteti i Tiranes
Elvana Shtepani

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