Clickbait kitsch
Your homework today is to try and watch this and NOT cry,” announced a Facebook post that showed up in my social media feed three times in one morning. I clicked, and the link took me to Upworthy.com to watch a video of an inspiring high school teacher interacting with his students.
Another post announced that “you too will cry after watching this . . . 90 percent of people cry.” The short video was about two orphans in Malaysia “discovering the power of unconditional love” on the eve of Eid al-Fitr, the Muslim holiday marking the end of Ramadan.
My feed includes at least one of these invitations every day. If I count the other emotions that I’m told to feel—amazement, wonder, laughter, inspiration—the number of those invitations multiplies, and I click almost every time. There’s the irresistible tagline and the endorsement of my peers. Who doesn’t want to see what lies behind “This is what happens when parents love their children unconditionally”? If three or four of my friends post the same link, I’ve got to see what all the fuss is about.
