There are not many cell phones on the University of Wisconsin campus, particularly those belonging to J-School students, that do not have the Buzzfeed app. I downloaded the popular online publication’s app back in high school, as the gif-filled “listicles” and random trivia popped up on their sidebar. I also appreciated their more serious journalism, which focused on many societal issues involving race relations, women’s rights, gay activism and even foreign policy.
Despite all the cats distracting my rationality with their cuteness, the deteriorating quality of Buzzfeed has become more and more apparent. It was such a promising platform; a young, hip channel through which meme-obsessed millennials, who were well-versed in the Internet, could learn about the world.
But growing popularity of Buzzfeed quickly became it’s downfall. The first sign for me was the quiz epidemic; every Facebook post, every conversation and every hypothetical identity yearning to be learned involved a Buzzfeed quiz. At first they were exciting and new, but as all the good ideas died away we were left with, “Which Kardashian’s eyebrow wax are you?” or, “Can we guess how many baby turtles you can fit in your butt?”
It was the beginning of the end. As Internet users swarmed and obsessed over the easily-digested journalism, the quality of said journalism promptly fell. The term “clickbait” entered the vernacular as a way to describe online journalism that is headlined or designed to simply attract “clicks” and traffic to the site.
Buzzfeed’s doom was solidified when the Onion launched a sister website, Clickhole. The site’s structure and content was directly inspired by Buzzfeed’s incessant use of clickbait, creating satirical quizzes, lists and articles that were borderline the real thing. I have often found myself on Buzzfeed, but thinking I was on Clickhole.
The destiny of digital journalism is still unsure, as many journalism majors are constantly reminded, but Buzzfeed may not be a part of it if they continue to publish the garbage they do.
Audrey Piehl ([email protected]) is a sophomore majoring in history.
