Engagement Bait

About

Engagement Bait is a slang term referring to a style of clickbait or "reaction farming" in which a content creator does or writes something intentionally obtuse and confusing, usually in a video or image macro, with the goal of attracting attention from confused social media users. These often take the forms of bizarre supposed "life hacks" or riddles with no answer. Additionally, the posters of these videos often never respond to questions or comments. While such content is rarely confirmed to be intentionally misleading or frustrating, social media users have theorized that the only explanation is that its poster is attempting to draw engagement to boost its reach.

History

While it is unclear where the trend of troll engagement bait began, one of the earliest notable examples came in the first half of 2021, when a flurry of supposed "food hacks" from magician and Facebook content creator Rick Lax began going viral on social media.^[1] Videos from his network of creators, such as the Ultimate Nacho Hack, generally show a woman making what is usually considered a simple dish but involves a convoluted and oftentimes highly messy process to achieve the same result as a traditional method.

In an interview with Eater,^[1] Lax admitted he might not try some of the more ridiculous dishes created in his videos but insisted they were "good" content in the sense that they performed well on social media. Author Ryan Broderick considered the videos to be a form of "prank" content, with the mark being the audience.

Notable Examples

Life Hacks

In addition to bizarre "food hacks," some creators have taken to making inane and confusing life hacks on social media. These videos will often promise a life-altering revelation but the ultimate point is unclear. Comedian Nick Pinto has made several videos in this style, usually promising a wild "life hack" but failing to deliver (examples shown below).

Fake Riddles

Another prevalent form of troll engagement bait is "fake riddles," in which a person posts a riddle or a puzzle with no solution, leading to mass confusion and frustration from any who come across it.

One of the most prominent examples, the Nurning Anninant TikTok, was posted in December 2022. That month, user thisis_bex posted the caption, "Imagine how good your life would be if you had a 26-year-old nursing assistant by your side, now replace S with N." The post went viral on social media as users struggled to figure out what it could possibly mean. Some theorized that the caption intentionally had no solution, and complained that she had successfully baited many into giving her attention.^[2]

Search Interest

Unavailable.

External References