• Hey Guest. Check out your NeoGAF Wrapped 2025 results here!

Have Youtube videos become more clickbaity recently?

Status
Not open for further replies.
D

Darryl M R

Member
On a lunch break I wanted to watch some Youtube videos from my subscription list and I realized how clickbaity and pseudo-NSFW thumbnails and titles are for Youtube videos.

And I'm not just seeing this from your typical gameplay and commentary Youtuber.

  1. Phillip Defrance with all caps, some instagram "model" doing a suggestive pose [despite having a host that tries to take a mature tone to his content]
  2. Kinda Funny videos with suggestive languages in their titles [despite having co-hosts that try to take a mature tone to their content]

Is this a tactic that even works anymore? Aren't most of their views returning subscribers that watch all of their videos?

I expect this from channels like WhiteBoy, Drama Alert, Woody, and other Youtubers that have a very young audience and focus heavily on gaming comentary.
 
INFINITE WARFARE GAMEPLAY video.

Translates to: "In this video you will see game play from Black Ops 3 with me talking about Infinite Warfare".

But yes, they have in my opinion.
 
I don't know about recently, but those news broadcast fails compilations always have some girl in skimpy or tight outfit with alot of cleavage. Then that footage isn't even in the video most of the time.
 
Subscribe to lesser-known channels that do not subsist on ad revenue and you will see less of this phenomenon.
 
Wouldn't say this is a very recent trend, but maybe they have become more visible in you related searches. There have been tons of "10 most things ever" list videos for years, and every blooper/fail/vine compilation always have their thumbnail set to the hottest girl that appears in it for maybe 5 seconds.
 
Nope, custom thumbnails just helps youtubers get more creative. Back then when I started on the site in 2006 alot of big youtubers just had boobs in the title and a 1-3 second clip/picture in the beginning or middle of the video so they have that as their thumbnail to attract views.

I swear I remember Defranco doing this back then too.
 
I completely get that these content creators have a business and they need to generate revenue for themselves, but it just seems so classless when it contrasts with their persona.

Seeing it everywhere on Youtube puts a bad taste in my mouth. I use to be really big on following Youtubers and I have been doing so since I was 16 or so. Unfortunately it seems like I matured and grew up but some Youtubers never did or could.

Farsi said:
Nope, custom thumbnails just helps youtubers get more creative. Back then when I started on the site in 2006 alot of big youtubers just had boobs in the title and a 1-3 second clip/picture in the beginning or middle of the video so they have that as their thumbnail to attract views.

I swear I remember Defranco doing this back then too.
Click to expand...

If I'm not mistaken he talks about how he use to be more poisonous on Youtube years earlier, but it is clear that he still uses certain practices for views.
 
MooMilk2929 said:
I don't know about recently, but those news broadcast fails compilations always have some girl in skimpy or tight outfit with alot of cleavage. Then that footage isn't even in the video most of the time.
Click to expand...

This. I have a soon to be stepson (he turns 7 today!) who I allow to watch Youtube videos from time to time, but I constantly feel the need to supervise because there are so many recommended videos that are far too mature for a 7 year old... He loves Justice League, Pokemon, Mario, Sonic, Minecraft, etc, but there is just so much trash even behind videos related to these themes.

Here's a good example. He loves to watch toy videos, and he found this gem. I had to make him turn it off.. The first seconds of the video made me uncomfortable and creeped out.

"Batman dates Barbie and she gets the poops"
https://youtu.be/NN0bKufWnSc
 
These videos existing at all is not a new concept by any means. Youtube's algorithms filtering this material upwards into suggested video feeds is a recognized trend though. There's a lot of fishy business that goes into which videos get placed where. They tread a fine line between engaging a mass audience and giving the appearance that their site is a hive of trashy clickbait and teenagers staging "pranks".
 
NoblesseOblige said:
Probably. But I don't subscribe to any channels meeting the conditions, so I really wouldn't know. I'd probably unsub if I saw it.
Click to expand...

These channels rely on their videos going viral and being in the suggestions page. It's fucking annoying though, I'd rather have the option of removing that page altogether as I never use it.
 
Phil DeFranco and that whole SourceFed lot have always done horrible clickbait shit with thumbnails. They would constantly whore out their female presenters on their thumbnails and use pretty suggestive/clickbaity titles.
 
Considering that one of the most classic YouTube video of all time is such a classic because if involves baiting people into clicking a link to a Rick Astley video, I wouldn't say it's recent.
 
cyba89 said:
I accidentally clicked on the Trending tab on the Youtube homepage once and lost all faith in humanity.
Click to expand...

Yeah it usually looks like this:

- Everything wrong with The Godfather in 5 Minutes or less
- Frogs react to Assasin's Creed Trailer
- Ultimate Vine Mega Fail Compilation
- Game Theorie: Did Luigi impregnate Toadette?
- Angry Nerd Vidya Gam0r - FNAF LP - Part 121 3SPOOPY5 ME
- Minecraft Let's Play - Part 432497239821

And the thumbnails have boobs or scared/screaming guys in them.
 
Stitch said:
Yeah it usually looks like this:

- Everything wrong with The Godfather in 5 Minutes or less
- Frogs react to Assasin's Creed Trailer
- Ultimate Vine Mega Fail Compilation
- Game Theorie: Did Luigi impregnate Toadette?
- Angry Nerd Vidya Gam0r - FNAF LP - Part 121 3SPOOPY5 ME
- Minecraft Let's Play - Part 432497239821

And the thumbnails have boobs or scared/screaming guys in them.
Click to expand...

Where's the "In The HOOD PRANK Gone Wrong" ?
 
Stitch said:
Yeah it usually looks like this:

- Everything wrong with The Godfather in 5 Minutes or less
- Frogs react to Assasin's Creed Trailer
- Ultimate Vine Mega Fail Compilation
- Game Theorie: Did Luigi impregnate Toadette?
- Angry Nerd Vidya Gam0r - FNAF LP - Part 121 3SPOOPY5 ME
- Minecraft Let's Play - Part 432497239821

And the thumbnails have boobs or scared/screaming guys in them.
Click to expand...

You forgot about the PRANKS.
 
Darryl M R said:
If I'm not mistaken he talks about how he use to be more poisonous on Youtube years earlier, but it is clear that he still uses certain practices for views.
Click to expand...

You had to be back in those days to get noticed so I don't blame him. Youtube back then it was really fun but man was it a shit zone. Only thing I miss is not having to worry about copyright.
 
Why are you subscribed to channels that use click bait if it bothers you that much? My experience has been the opposite, more people have thumbnails that follow themes and overall my feed has looked better than ever.
 
There's some serious money in YouTube if you get a lot of views and clickbaity titles and thumbnails get you those views (in theory). Also, literally everyone can do stuff for YouTube so it's filled with bullshit like that. YouTube is worse than every clickbait site in existence in that regard.
 
I think what you are seeing is a result from watching channels who have become popular more recently (Or at least increased their popularity a lot due to a breakout video) trying to continue their growth by copying the popular YouTube channels in their style and content.

I follow Kinda Funny and Boogie and I have noticed both have started acting a lot more click batey with their thumbnails and subject matters in recent times plus with KF you have them constantly teaming up with other popular channels to expand their audience. Not to say that the content isn't a good thing for them as it makes perfect sense from a marketing perspective but from my position as someone who started following them for a specific type of content or style it does end up feeling like they are simply chasing views and subs.

Best example for me with a channel that really turned me off because of this was Angry Joe. I first became aware of him for the whole Xbox rant that helped him become so popular. He felt genuine and I agreed with his points. After a while though his whole character became so transparent and it just became something I groaned at as soon as I saw it posted so I ended up unsubscribing to his channel. Boogie has been getting that way recently with his increased amount of YouTube drama videos, always trying to be objective while missing the point of the issue or ignoring that one side is clearly wrong and most importantly making content about other people that I have no interest in since I followed him and not them. Of course he has come to the realisation this week that he was wrong to go down that road so I have a lot of respect for him to be open about that and make changes.

Honestly, I think the main thing I can't stand with many YouTube channels is the constant negativity, be it about other Youtubers, games, films, shows and everything in between. Majority of the times I just end up sitting there disagreeing with everything they say because it's clear they are either unable to see things from the correct perspective or they simply just seem to hate everything. It's why I have moved to watching only a few channels, my main being Easy Allies as they are critical but always willing to give things the benefit of the doubt and take a more positive view which feels very refreshing in a sea of negativity.

Another thing I can't stand is watching people discuss something when it's clear they have no idea what they are talking about. Prime example was I watched a video from The Know about Jim Sterling being sued and the way they portrayed Jim was terrible, putting him across as bad as the Digital Homicide people which for anyone who has actually followed the story would know he actually had a lot of restraint in their interview (They said it was basically 2 people shouting abuse at each other). It was the last video I ever watched of them because I just thought 'what can I actually get from them other than pointing out flaws with their opinions and arguments'
 
this was the thumbnail for a youtube video the other day.. a bit early maybe??

maxresdefault.jpg
Click to expand...
 
It's just a Symptom of the race to the bottom on YouTube. Content isn't rewarded, what gets you views is acting like an idiot, putting sexy Models in the thumbnails, and doing shite lists.

Original programming is almost impossible to support on YouTube.
 
Eumi said:
Why are you subscribed to channels that use click bait if it bothers you that much? My experience has been the opposite, more people have thumbnails that follow themes and overall my feed has looked better than ever.
Click to expand...

I am only now purging my subscription list. I enjoyed watching some Youtubers in the past. I was a huge follower of gaming youtubers and fitness youtubers but now I am trying to filter my subscription list. I have started this subscription list since I was 16.

Dirtyshubb said:
I think what you are seeing is a result from watching channels who have become popular more recently (Or at least increased their popularity a lot due to a breakout video) trying to continue their growth by copying the popular YouTube channels in their style and content.

I follow Kinda Funny and Boogie and I have noticed both have started acting a lot more click batey with their thumbnails and subject matters in recent times plus with KF you have them constantly teaming up with other popular channels to expand their audience. Not to say that the content isn't a good thing for them as it makes perfect sense from a marketing perspective but from my position as someone who started following them for a specific type of content or style it does end up feeling like they are simply chasing views and subs.

Best example for me with a channel that really turned me off because of this was Angry Joe. I first became aware of him for the whole Xbox rant that helped him become so popular. He felt genuine and I agreed with his points. After a while though his whole character became so transparent and it just became something I groaned at as soon as I saw it posted so I ended up unsubscribing to his channel. Boogie has been getting that way recently with his increased amount of YouTube drama videos, always trying to be objective while missing the point of the issue or ignoring that one side is clearly wrong and most importantly making content about other people that I have no interest in since I followed him and not them. Of course he has come to the realisation this week that he was wrong to go down that road so I have a lot of respect for him to be open about that and make changes.

Honestly, I think the main thing I can't stand with many YouTube channels is the constant negativity, be it about other Youtubers, games, films, shows and everything in between. Majority of the times I just end up sitting there disagreeing with everything they say because it's clear they are either unable to see things from the correct perspective or they simply just seem to hate everything. It's why I have moved to watching only a few channels, my main being Easy Allies as they are critical but always willing to give things the benefit of the doubt and take a more positive view which feels very refreshing in a sea of negativity.

Another thing I can't stand is watching people discuss something when it's clear they have no idea what they are talking about. Prime example was I watched a video from The Know about Jim Sterling being sued and the way they portrayed Jim was terrible, putting him across as bad as the Digital Homicide people which for anyone who has actually followed the story would know he actually had a lot of restraint in their interview (They said it was basically 2 people shouting abuse at each other). It was the last video I ever watched of them because I just thought 'what can I actually get from them other than pointing out flaws with their opinions and arguments'
Click to expand...

After reading your post I have to agree 100%. What I am noticing now is just how these Youtubers are changing to get more views and subs. I would like to add though that I am not talking down on them at all; at the end of the day they need to feed their family and I understand if they rather get 10 new subscribers or views and lose me as a viewer, the math is clear.

Yup Angry Joe character has been more transparent to the point that people are calling him out for faking first time watch videos. I'm also glad that Boogie noticed that he was going down a bad path for his channel, I currently subscribe to him because I enjoy the man making the content and not always the content (not a fan of rage videos). It is hard when I support the people behind the video and want them to succeed but I no longer enjoy watching their content.
 
It's always been like this, since the start when various YouTube celebrities emerged. And then the copycats appeared, and now there's just so many, with it all being so prolific, you can't go five videos before seeing that telltale yellow background with digitally enlarged host eyes, or badly drawn host avatars, or "funny face host" stuff. People copy what the "popular" people do, and so it gets super-saturated.

6SGry3P.png

MHtWQrV.png

CKjgsAH.png

ZldvYty.png



Stuff like this is why I don't even bother watching YouTube vids unless a friend directly links me to one, and even then I judge a clip by it's cover. (I know the BroTeam vids covers are supposed to be an "ironic" mockery of the idea, and yet, they do it unironically anyway). I have no subscriptions on YouTube and don't follow anyone, so this is based on just seeing sidebar stuff.

Popular clowns generate more clowns. And a lot of people can't tell what's an act, and what's genuine, so people with the most outrageous acts tend to generate a lot of fans quickly who think "this guy really tells it like it is!". Zero Punctuation is a good example of that. It's as real as WWE, except people mistake the rage or sarcasm as honesty.

There's a lot of great content on YouTube, but to be popular usually requires following the same formula as what makes Buzzfeed popular. So yeah. YouTube is basically just a Gamefaqs forum in video format. The loudest, most obnoxious personalities stand out, while the good stuff requires searching.

fabricated backlash said:
It's just a Symptom of the race to the bottom on YouTube. Content isn't rewarded, what gets you views is acting like an idiot, putting sexy Models in the thumbnails, and doing shite lists.

Original programming is almost impossible to support on YouTube.
Click to expand...

This. The only exceptions being comedy channels like Tom Ska and the like.
 
Man.I sit here trying to find funny prank videos for me and my 7 year old to watch and I swear to God, almost every video has a thumbnail of a chick's ass or tits or something just super sexual going on. The fuck does that even have to do with pranks? So I'm always dodging most of the videos I come across.

That damn Roman Atwood dude had a recent video called ONE MILLION DOLLAR PS4 CONTROLLER?!? or something close to that. It was basically a random-ass vlog for 15 minutes and then a scene with him giving his son a new Hulk themed PS4 controller to open up and telling his son to be careful when taking it out of the box because it cost a million dollars. Bull...fucking...shit. I can't stand that click bait stuff.
 
One of the channels I used to watch turned into this which is sad to see. Went from normal videos with clear titles and normal thumbnails into absolute insanity. All caps titles that don't even mention what game they are playing, thumbnails which are all over the place and scary. I don't know what happened but it's pretty crappy that is for sure.
 
The website Cracked seems to have multiple clickbait titles for their articles that they cycle through throughout the day. As if changing their names might get someone who didn't click the article the first time around yet visit Cracked more than once a day. They could be right.
 
It's been like that for 3 years or so. Absolutely terrible.

Don't you just love it when people look like idiots in thumbnails and put all their titles in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS WITH THE BASICS OF PUNCTUATION BEING IGNORED?!?!???

HIT SUBSCRIBE IF YOU WANT MORE VIDEOS LIKE THIS!!!!
 
George Oscar Bluth II said:
It's been like that for 3 years or so. Absolutely terrible.

Don't you just love it when people look like idiots in thumbnails and put all their titles in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS WITH THE BASICS OF PUNCTUATION BEING IGNORED?!?!???

HIT SUBSCRIBE IF YOU WANT MORE VIDEOS LIKE THIS!!!!
Click to expand...

SLAP THAT LIKE BUTTON IF YOU ENJOYED THIS VIDEO!
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

YouTube ads will become unskippable
News  2 3 4
166
2K
Giallo Corsa replied
embedding Youtube videos now is enshitified
18
570
Toots replied
Quality YouTube channels that deserve more viewers/subscribers.
37
320
Dacvak replied
X / Twitter has become completely useless recently, defaults to "For you" instead of "Following" tab.
43
3K
Nocty replied
YouTube Down?
10
2K
AJUMP23 replied
Top Bottom