We’re so jaded by the clickbait titles directing us to sites like Upworthy that the site Downworthy is doing something about it. And imagine what it’d be like if serious literature got the same treatment. This is part of a complete episode.
Transcript of “Hyperbolic Headlines”
You’re listening to A Way with Words, the show about language and how we use it. I’m Grant Barrett.
And I’m Martha Barnette. And this is just a wild guess, but I’m betting that you are as irritated as I am by a certain kind of language that’s been polluting the internet.
That’s big talk. What is it?
It’s that overheated, hyperbolic, breathless language on sites like Upworthy, you know, where you see something like, what this seven-year-old said on the Ellen DeGeneres show will make you cry or make your jaw drop, you know, or will blow your mind.
It’s just clickbait, right?
It’s trying to get you to click through no matter what.
And I’m really glad to see that there’s also a backlash against this kind of language.
There’s an extension you can put in your browser from Downworthy that changes all that language, changes literally to figuratively.
Just kind of brings the hype down a notch, right?
Yeah, yeah.
Changes like will blow your mind to might perhaps mildly entertain you for a moment.
I’m not incredibly annoyed by it.
A little bit annoyed by it.
I’m really annoyed by it.
I put stuff on Twitter just kind of carping about it.
And I do block Upworthy on Facebook because…
You do.
You block it.
The fulfillment’s not there for me.
They offer more than they deliver.
And I don’t like that particular hiding the ball.
How many times I’m going to be suckered into clicking on a link only to find the video was four minutes of nonsense and like three seconds of like good content.
Exactly.
You feel like Charlie Brown in the football.
Exactly.
The football keeps getting yanked away as you come to kick it.
But there’s another aspect to this, which I think is really important, is that as this level of expertise rises, as everyone in the media business knows what makes a good headline, knows what makes people click, everybody is hyping it up.
Exactly.
And so the whole higher level of hyperbole is we’re to the point where it’s basically a lot of innuendo and kind of lying, frankly.
Exactly.
Yeah, it’s language turned up to 11, you know, and if you start there, then there’s no place to go.
But that said, this is very American.
Well, yeah.
You can go back to the works of Charles Dickens where he writes about being in America and he talks about the way Americans are super happy about things that they’re not supposed to be happy about or that other people would just take for granted.
Right?
We are known as the kind of the artificially happy people.
This is how we’re seen around the world.
Well, it’s funny that you mentioned Charles Dickens because there’s also a site that takes the titles of famous books and changes them into that kind of language.
Like, watch this kid burst into tears when he’s refused more porridge.
Or this one for Pride and Prejudice.
He didn’t want to dance with her when they first met.
Now he really, really does.
That’s just genius.
I’m sorry.
That’s a winner.
I’m going to follow them wherever they are.
It’s themillions.com.
Oh, yeah.
They always do great stuff.
Yeah.
Isn’t that great?
Look, there’s a place and a time for hype.
Absolutely.
You want people to click on your stuff.
We’re urging just a slight bit more, like, just straight up, plain speaking.
Yeah.
Dial it down a bit.
If you’ve got an opinion or a comment about this hyperbolic language, this just up, up, up, up kind of language, give us a call.
Write it in all caps.
Don’t, please.
But that’s what it feels like.
I’m not going to be hard on my old eyes.
No.
Email us, words@waywordradio.org.
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