摘要
社会化媒体内容生产者经常使用“标题党”方式来吸引用户。本文通过二手数据与实验相结合的方法,探讨了“标题党”对用户信息互动行为的影响,研究发现:“标题党”能够带来更多的点击,但是会减少用户分享。好奇心在“标题党”刺激点击的正向作用中起到了中介作用,受评忧虑在“标题党”对分享的负向作用中起到了中介作用,而感知操纵意图与感知可信度在“标题党”对点击与分享的影响关系中起到了连续中介作用。此外,本文探索了这些中介效应的边界条件,发现网络信息素养在其中发挥了调节作用。研究结论有助于加深对“标题党”双刃剑效应的理解,也为社会化媒体平台、内容生产者和用户提供了实践启示。
The rapid growth of mobile internet and social media has transformed how information is created and shared,leading to a surge in content production.Headlines,as the first point of contact,play a crucial role in capturing user attention.To stand out,content creators often use clickbait—sensational or misleading headlines designed to drive clicks.While clickbait may boost traffic temporarily,it often wastes users`time,spreads misinformation,and damages the credibility of social media platforms.Despite the widespread use of clickbait on social media,academic research on its effects remains limited.Existing studies have mainly focused on the relationship between clickbait and click-through behavior,paying far less attention to its impact on sharing behavior.Additionally,the empirical findings on clickbait's effects are inconsistent.More importantly,most research has concentrated on the direct effects of clickbait on user behavior,with limited exploration of the psychological mechanisms that drive these behaviors.The role of boundary conditions—such as Internet information literacy—has also been largely overlooked.Therefore,deeper investigation into the dual-edged effects of clickbait,as well as the mechanisms and conditions under which these effects occur,is crucial for advancing both theoretical understanding and practical applications.To address these research gaps,this study aims to systematically examine the impact of clickbait on user engagement behaviors,with a particular focus on clicks and shares.It also seeks to explore the psychological pathways through which clickbait influences these behaviors,as well as the boundary conditions that shape its effects.The research is divided into two parts.First,using a dataset collected from WeChat public accounts,machine learning techniques and Tobit regression models are employed to quantitatively analyze the effects of clickbait on users`clicking and sharing behaviors.Second,two controlled experiments are conducted to further investigate the cognitive and psychological mechanisms underlying these behaviors.These experiments examine how clickbait interacts with users`cognitive factors—such as curiosity,perceived credibility,and evaluation apprehension—to shape their intentions to click or share.Furthermore,the moderating role of Internet information literacy is analyzed to understand how individual differences influence user responses to clickbait.The findings reveal that clickbait has a dual-edged impact on user behavior.On the positive side,clickbait effectively stimulates clickthrough behavior by leveraging users’curiosity.Curiosity acts as an intrinsic motivator,driving users to seek answers to the mystery or intrigue presented by clickbait headlines.This psychological drive increases the likelihood of users clicking on the content.On the negative side,however,clickbait significantly reduces users`willingness to share content.This is mainly due to two factors:evaluation apprehension and perceived credibility.Evaluation apprehension refers to users'fear of being negatively judged by others for sharing clickbait content,as doing so may harm their reputation or judgment in the eyes of others.Additionally,the perception of manipulative intent of clickbait often leads users to view the content as untrustworthy,further discouraging sharing behavior.The study also identifies a sequential mediation process that explains the complex psychological mechanisms through which clickbait influences user behavior.Specifically,users`perception of manipulative intent in clickbait headlines lowers their trust in the content's credibility,which subsequently reduces both their click and share intentions.This finding underscores the intricate interplay between curiosity,perceived manipulation,and credibility in shaping user engagement with clickbait.Another significant finding is the moderating role of Internet information literacy.Internet information literacy plays an essential role in determining how users respond to clickbait.For individuals with lower Internet literacy,clickbait is more effective at stimulating curiosity and driving click-through intentions.Conversely,individuals with higher Internet literacy are more likely to identify the misleadingnature of clickbait. This heightened awareness triggers strongerperceptions of manipulative intent and evaluation apprehension,which ultimately lead to reduced sharing intentions.This study makes important contributions to both theoretical andpractical domains. Theoretically, it systematically investigates thedual-edged effects of clickbait on user engagement behaviors, providingnew insights into its benefits and drawbacks. By empiricallydemonstrating the mediating roles of curiosity, evaluation apprehension,and perceived credibility, the study advances the understandingof the psychological mechanisms through which clickbaitinfluences user behavior. Furthermore, the identification of Internetinformation literacy as a key moderating factor expands the scopeof research on individual cognitive traits in social media settings,offering new directions for future studies.Practically, the findings provide valuable insights for content creators,social media platforms, and policymakers. For content creators,it is essential to balance attention-grabbing headlines withauthenticity to avoid eroding user trust and harming long-term relationships.Social media platforms should take on the role of “gatekeepers”by implementing reputation mechanisms that promotethe creation and sharing of high-quality content, thereby reducingusers` evaluation apprehension. For policymakers and educators, thestudy highlights the importance of improving users` digital literacythrough initiatives that enhance critical thinking and online contentevaluation skills. These efforts can help reduce susceptibility toclickbait and foster a healthier, more trustworthy social media environment.
作者
张星
唐宇钥
王圆圆
肖泉
Zhang Xing;Tang Yuyao;Wang Yuanyuan;Xiao Quan(School of Management,Wuhan Textile University;School of Information Management and Mathematics,Jiangxi University of Finance and Economics)
出处
《南开管理评论》
北大核心
2025年第2期197-208,共12页
Nankai Business Review
基金
国家自然科学基金项目(71974152、71861014)
湖北省教育厅哲学社会科学重点研究项目(24D046)资助。
关键词
标题党
好奇心
受评忧虑
感知操纵意图
感知可信度
Clickbait
Curiosity
Evaluation Apprehension
Perception of Manipulative Intent
Perceived Trustworthiness
作者简介
张星,武汉纺织大学管理学院教授、博士,研究方向为互联网用户行为与电子健康;唐宇钥,武汉纺织大学管理学院硕士研究生,研究方向为社会化媒体;王圆圆,武汉纺织大学管理学院硕士研究生,研究方向为互联网内容分析;通讯作者:肖泉,江西财经大学信息管理与数学学院教授、博士,研究方向为信息产品设计。
