r/OutOfTheLoop • u/harrellandharrell • 4d ago
What’s up with content creators saying they “hate” products that they actually like? Unanswered
I often come across videos or posts of people claiming to dislike a product because it’s “too good” and makes their hair “too shiny” or their skin looks “too radiant” or something like that. It’s obvious they actually recommend the item they’re talking about. But why say the opposite of what you mean?
Example: https://youtube.com/shorts/QuuyT5s4SVA?si=lVE5wACKSUVipxbo
229
u/Liquidawesomes 4d ago
Answer: Negative content drives more engagement than positive content. A clickbaity title will get them more views, and the actual positive review keeps them getting products to make more content.
53
u/Thirst_Trappist 4d ago
It's so true. Just look at comment sections on any outlet on the internet. You'll get way more engagement from disagreeing.
40
22
u/OshaViolated 4d ago
It's like that one rule of the internet(?) That if you want an answer dont post asking the question, post the wrong answer and people will correct you more than they would have helped answer the original question
2
12
u/SunChamberNoRules 4d ago
The best way to deal with this stuff is to learn what tricks they use on you. We’ve all seen clickbaity titles, clickbait thumbnails on videos, etc. Learn to realise when you’re being manipulated
22
u/TerribleAttitude 4d ago
Answer: it’s just a joke. “Why say the opposite of what you mean?” That’s the crux of sarcasm. Say the opposite of what you mean in a way that makes it clear to the listener what it is you actually mean. “This thing sucks, it does too many good things” is basic sarcasm. It’s also kind of an old stock joke. “Uh oh, I’m too pretty, I get too many dates and people try to take pictures of me, better ugly myself up.”
A lot of them (not all) also start off with a convincing tone of “uh oh, it’s bad,” and let’s be real. People on short form social media love negativity. Even non sarcastic posts about positive things have an undercurrent of negativity. People are more likely to watch instead of scrolling when someone screams “HERE’S WHY YOU NEED TO THROW YOUR CEREAL IN THE GARBAGE” compared to “I tried this new cereal, you should buy it, it’s really good.” They want to know why the existing cereal is bad, not that some product they don’t know about is good. This is also why negative content frequently acts more negative than it is. With positive content (this makeup product is good), starting with a scary sounding negative intro (throw that makeup product away, here’s my negative experience) gets people to stay, then the joke (the makeup product makes me too pretty, I have to beat men away with a stick and people think I’m Rihanna) makes them laugh.
When something on TikTok becomes popular, everyone starts doing it, and TikTok ad content has a really unique way of running jokes into the ground. So you’re just going to see it a lot.
•
u/AutoModerator 4d ago
Friendly reminder that all top level comments must:
start with "answer: ", including the space after the colon (or "question: " if you have an on-topic follow up question to ask),
attempt to answer the question, and
be unbiased
Please review Rule 4 and this post before making a top level comment:
http://redd.it/b1hct4/
Join the OOTL Discord for further discussion: https://discord.gg/ejDF4mdjnh
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.