Is Upworthy indirectly addressing a crisis of faith that internet users collectively feel? Is there something about the hyperlink that makes us want to believe, or disbelieve, what is on the other side? Does clickbait restore our faith or inspire our disbelief?

Life Sentences: The Grammar of Clickbait! From The American Reader. Short but sweet.

cf. @UpWorthIt on Twitter, which imitates the clickbait headline style flawlessly (e.g., “A Dude Told This Woman To Keep Quiet. Good Thing He Didn’t Tell Her Not To Cure Cancer, Cuz She Did.”), and the Downworthy browser extension, which replaces linkbait phrases with more truthful ones (e.g., “One Weird Trick” becomes “One Piece of Completely Anecdotal Horseshit” ).

h/t oceanjesse@MeFi