Graphic Comic

The four technology-related terms I researched were clickbait, micro-influencer, smartphone zombie, and sextortion. Before researching, I was aware of most of these terms, but some, such as sextortion, were foreign to my knowledge. With technology rapidly advancing, it will be interesting to witness new terms integrating within our world. 

My researched technology terms: 

1. Clickbait    

    Clickbait is used to describe misleading headlines on the internet to attract views on content (Molina et al., 2021). A broad theme with clickbait is how, despite sounding authentic, the actual content has nothing to do with what it claims. Ongoing literature debates have been analyzing whether clickbait content persuades users to “click” on the content since the website’s legitimacy and wording of headlines can influence individuals differently (Molina et al., 2021, p.1). Jung et al. (2022) studied the impact of standard clickbait phrases such as “you won’t believe” and their influence on internet users (p.4). The authors discuss how the excitement of such phrases causes more views since they are simple and form credibility (Jung et al., 2022). During the earlier years of YouTube, I remember quickly clicking on challenge-themed videos titled “You won’t believe what happened” since they easily persuaded me. I stopped clicking on the material after becoming more aware of specific phrases and wording in the videos. 
    My comic emphasizes how internet clickbait can relate to school. Multiple times in primary school, my teachers would over-hype a lesson to get our attention. As seen in the leftmost frame, the teacher mimics a clickbait headline by describing the lesson as “ the most fun”. In the middle, it has the students acting as internet users by being excited at the presented content. Lastly, the teacher reveals a boring math lesson, mirroring what the clickbait content ends up being. 
 

1. Microinflueuncer 

A micro-influencer is active on social media and posts content similar to influencers (Conde & Casais, 2023). In contrast to famous internet influencers, these individuals have between 1000- 100 000 followers on social media platforms lower on the influencer hierarchy (Conde & Casais, 2023). One will find micro-influencers endorsed less by brands or promoting lesser-known products in hopes of gaining revenue and popularity. As someone with 18,200 followers on TikTok promoting swim content, I understand the difficulty of moving to the “popular” level online since more prominent influencers tend to gatekeep the brands they work with. 

1. Smartphone zombie 

    “Smartphone zombies” are defined as people who use their phones distractedly while walking (McCleave, 2023). This causes individuals to trip and bump into others accidentally on the sidewalk. I believe smartphone zombies are more susceptible to falling for clickbait too, since the distractions can cause one to glance over clickbait-like phrases that would be identified if not over-occupied. 
    

1. Sextortion 

Although I never knew about this term, I know the topic. Sextortion is when individuals create fake identities online to persuade victims to send explicit photos of themselves (Kindelan, 2024). I believe this term is one more people should be aware of, especially in schools, since child predators are, sadly in this world, attacking children new to the world of social media. 

Works Cited

Chen, J., Zhang, Y., Cai, H., Liu, L., Liao, M., & Fang, J. (2024). A comprehensive overview of micro-influencer marketing: Decoding the current landscape, impacts, and Trends. Behavioral Sciences, 14(3), 243. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs14030243
D. Molina, M., Sundar, S. S., Rony, M. M., Hassan, N., Le, T., & Lee, D. (2021). Does Clickbait actually attract more clicks? Three clickbait studies you must read. Proceedings of the 2021 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. https://doi.org/10.1145/3411764.3445753
Jung, A.-K., Stieglitz, S., Kissmer, T., Mirbabaie, M., & Kroll, T. (2022). Click me…! the influence of clickbait on user engagement in social media and the role of digital nudging. PLOS ONE, 17(6). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0266743
Kindelan, K. (2024, May 8). I was a victim of online sextortion in high school. Here’s what I want parents and kids to know. ABC News. https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Family/victim-online-sextortion-high-school-parents-kids/story?id=108662394#:~:text=Sextortion%20is%20a%20crime%20in,photos%2C%20according%20to%20the%20FBI.
McCleave, R. (2023, October 10). Read canadian underwriter’s article about the “smartphone zombie apocalypse.” Read Canadian Underwriter’s article about the “Smartphone Zombie apocalypse.” https://www.bflcanada.ca/article/read-canadian-underwriters-article-featuring-robin-mccleave/ 

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