Clickbait is a growing problem, and it's one that could spiral out of control unless people start seeing through the bogus headlines an increasing number of websites are using to get traffic. It's time for us to take a stand. It's time to share examples of clickbait with each other. For all our sakes.

Calamitous Clickbait Collusion

We want to know, What Is The Worst Clickbait You Have Ever Seen? This is a simple question which gives every single one of you reading this the chance to call out the worst offenders when it comes to clickbait. And if you're not sure what clickbait is, then read our first look at ClickHole from The Onion before coming back here to take part in the discussion.

You may have noticed a strange phenomenon growing on the Web of late. Where once stood headlines concisely summing up what an article is about now stands clickbait designed to get you to click on an article. Nothing more, nothing less.

http://youtu.be/HjTyEGb16lM

It doesn't matter whether or not you're actually interested in the contents of the article, the aim with clickbait is to get you onto the website responsible. Because it's the clicks that count, not the quality of writing or the intrinsic value of an article.

This horrible practice is growing wildly, as more and more websites realize it's an easy way of getting traffic flowing their way. It means a viral video posted under a compelling clickbait headline stands more chance of being appreciated than a 1,000-word investigation into something that actually matters. Like poverty. Or terrorism. Or even technology.

big-cursor

We hate clickbait, and we hope you do too. Which brings us to this week's We Ask You, which has us asking you to point in the direction of the worst examples of clickbait you have ever seen.

Websites notorious for posting clickbait headlines are Upworthy, BuzzFeed, ViralNova, The Huffington Post, and The Blaze. But they're far from alone. We want specific headlines which appalled you for the way they're fooling people into clicking through to a website using hyperbole and histrionics.

Have Your Say

All comments will be read and most will be replied to, before a follow-up post is published containing the We Ask You ResultsOne reader will even win Comment Of The Week, which will be included in the follow-up post!

We Ask You is a column dedicated to learning the opinions of MakeUseOf readers. This column is nothing without you, as MakeUseOf is nothing without you.

Image Credit: Shawe Ewahs via Flickr