#i always encourage boycotts to be clear. they work | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

ow-anteater · 3 years

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I feel it is at this point appropriate that I share some of my thoughts about the news about activision blizzard. First I want to make it very, very clear: the important part of all this is and will always be the women, especially women of color, who have for so long suffered in the gaming industry. Any and all conversation about this should center them and make it explicitly clear that their comfort - and the creation of a culture in the industry that doesn’t rely on the violent victimization of minorities - is the center issue here

I urge everyone able to do so, to consider following the wishes of the striking blizzard employees and donate. Links and general resources can be found in this post.

My intent in making this post is not to detract from any of that, nor should this be taken as any sort of public grande statement on the situation, I simply made the realization that most of my processing and discussion of how to continue from here, have taken place in a discord server that the majority of my audience here can’t see. I feel like I, as an adult man in this particular fandom space, must make my reasoning for how to act within the Overwatch fandom public and transparent

For the time being my response has will be to no longer monetarily support the company in any way, while still engaging in the fandom. I’m not saying this is the correct way to go about it, nor am I saying this is necessarily the stance I will stand by forever, but for now that’s what I’ll be doing, and for transparency’s sake I want to explain my reasoning for it here.

My reason here is two-pronged: first, there is the - I think - main point that I feel like a full on, publicly performed boycott of blizzard might incorrectly signal that this is a problem with this particular company and their properties. It’s not. Blizzard is grossly mishandling the situation and I cannot repeat enough how much I do not support them, but this is still an issue of an entire industry that is ripe with abuse and bigotry. We cannot meaningfully change this culture by freezing out the company currently being exposed and let the rest of the industry go unexamined: I’d rather engage critically with this property than disengage fully from the conversation

Secondly, my feelings on overwatch are complicated by the fact it isn’t the product of a single, now-revealed-to-be-bigoted creator, but of a huge team of developers, some of who were the victims of abuse. I have before, at length, discussed the issues in overwatch (how it’s military propaganda, how the characters of color are sometimes flattened and their culture fetishized uncomfortably, the white washing and so on), but these aren’t - necessarily - directly related to the bigotry of the higher ups. I’d rather engage critically and remain vigilant about the icky themes and undertones present in the text than throw the whole thing away, because among those things are also the hard work, talent, passion and brilliant writing of the actual people who were victimized

I realize this is incredibly personal and it will vary greatly where different people draw the lines for how they want to engage in the media they’ve consumed, but for me, these are the factors that contribute to my stance: to firmly reject Blizzard as a company, keep supporting the workers in every strike (and hopefully unionizing) endeavor, stay vigilant about enforcing an open, non-bigoted space in any and all spaces that has to do with gaming, while still engaging in fan produced content

In general, I encourage anyone who is a fan of any Blizzard property to do what feels right. Keep the victims at the front of your mind always, and engage critically always, but please be compassionate both to yourself and the people around you. Nothing is comparable to what the actual women went through, but I sympathize deeply with any fan who finds this shocking, horrifying or even possibly (re)traumatizing to read about a work of fiction you enjoyed. My inbox is always open to anyone wanting to talk, and I encourage you to seek profesional help if you’re able and this is impacting you negatively

As a last, and a lot less consequential note, I have seen already in a couple posts around the fandom, posts trying to (however playfully) erase the undeniable fact that the character McCree is named after somebody who is - at the very least - indifferent to misogyny existing in his space. In my eyes this position is indefensible and comes from a place of (however well intentioned) ignorance and dangerous unwillingness to face the facts about the situation. I’m still undecided on wether i think the character should be fully renamed, but I think that engaging in ‘Miku gave him that name uwu’ types of jokes is distasteful and disrespectful to the women who had to see a beloved character they worked hard to realize, be named after a man who hurt them. I know this is a small point and again, one whose importance pales next to talking about the victims and where to go from here in the gaming industry as a whole, but I’ve already seen discussions about this character and their name propping up a lot of places and I wanted to make my stance 100% clear to avoid it becoming a potentially focus-stealing conversation later on

We cannot sweep this under the rug, we cannot deny the abuse that produced a product we ended up loving. I don’t want to police how anyone reacts but please, please, please do not try to erase or minimize the hurt caused or suffered - and do not try to paint any sort of fandom activity as comparable to activism.

Thank you, believe victims and fuck actiblizz 💙

#overwatch #blizzard #activision #actiblizzwalkout #long post #serious post #if anything is worded wrong please tell me #I’m fallible and English isn’t my first language #I truly do not want to detract but it also felt weird to not say something

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positively--speculative · 3 years

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White and white aligned fandom has this habit of picking and choosing when they care about racism.

I’m still thinking about how a JD stan decided to list all of AH’s wrongdoings to me even though I made it clear that I’m not a fan of hers. Among her wrongdoings is that she’s been racist and has even used the n-word before, and that if I pay to see the Aquaman sequel, I’m supporting a racist.

I found this a little funny, because like I’ve said in another post, Black people and non-Black people of color have always been picking our battles with entertainment, because Hollywood as a whole is racist. I mean, very rarely do we get a break from it. If we boycotted every single movie with a racist involved, we would not have a lot left to watch anymore.

Another reason that I’ve also already mentioned is that I’m supposed to believe this JD stan is taking a strong anti-racist stance by encouraging people to boycott Aquaman. I mean, never mind the cast includes a Native Hawaiian actor and a Black actor as leads. Never mind the director is an Asian man. We need to boycott it because AH is a racist. Because, you know, the execs are really going to see the attractive white woman as the cause of losing money on the film. That’s how it works, right?

Also, JD has on more than one occasion been racist towards Native people and participated in a film that presented a caricature of Indian people. He has never apologized for any of it. But, of course, his stans can excuse that because he apparently has “Native blood.”

Like, one of the things that fries me as a biracial Black woman is how these fans will act like the simple choice to not see a movie is some progressive stance when it’s not. No, they don’t care about male victims of abuse--if they did, they’d put the same amount of energy in defending Ray Fisher and John Boyega as they do JD. No, they don’t care about racism, because if they did, they’d be disgusted by JD’s history on the matter. But they’re not. They just want JD to have his career back. That’s the short and long of it. I don’t think anyone would care as much about their bullshit if they were just honest about their intentions.

#anti-johnny depp #racism

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mypoisonedvine · 4 years

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Ties That Bind, Debts That Burden | Curtis Everett x reader

for @stargazingfangirl18 and @navybrat817‘s august challenge! my prompt was the gif!

summary: you didn’t expect the man who bought you to be so kind. you didn’t expect to fall for him, either.

warnings: death of a parent character, kidnapping, implied noncon/mentions of noncon, sexism, sexual slavery (mentioned), dub con (but not in the way you’re expecting), implied age gap (everyone is over 18!! as always!!), semi-public sex, breeding kink, loss of virginity, pain kink (slightly)

word count: a bit over 4k (and I wrote it all in one day... hey that rhymes!)

[this is another one of those things where the fic itself is dark due to the subject matter, but the character in question is not ‘dark’ in the traditional sense. so, curtis is a good dude, it’s everyone else that sucks; this is a dark fic tonally, but not sexually per se]

Life in the tail section was ruthless. It was all about survival, and survival was about being stronger than others. You weren’t strong. What you did have was your father, and he had kept you safe all your life, even before the two of you had lived in this terrible place. He was a sort of leader; people looked up to him, and as a result, they obeyed his wishes to stay away from you. Even so, you could sense that a lot of the men in the train were just waiting for their chance to take you. Women who didn’t have significant skills to offer, women like you, were seen as a commodity with only one purpose. Less like wives and more like slaves, they were traded, sold, and bartered for like clothes or rations. It made you feel sick, but most of all it made you terrified for what would happen when your father couldn’t protect you anymore. He was strong, but old, and so tired. You hated to see how hard he had to work so late into his life, just so that you wouldn’t have to suffer.

When he died, it almost didn’t feel real. Even though it was sort of expected with the way his health had been declining for months, it was nothing you ever could’ve imagined. A world without your father meant a world you were truly alone in… and only now did you confront the real cruelty of life in the tail section.

You woke up to being dragged by your hair; you screamed and kicked, but there was little you could do as you were thrown down onto the floor. Your worthless fighting was muted as rags were used to bind your wrists and ankles, and a gag silenced you. You looked up to see you were surrounded by men, with one-- you were pretty sure his name was Jamie, you’d seen him around before-- standing up and hovering over you.

“Her father is finally dead!” he announced to the crowd with a dirty smile that was missing a few teeth. “I got my hands on her first, but I’m willing to sell her to any reasonable bidders.”

“Five rations,” one voice quickly jutted in.

“Five-- what the fuck are you talking about, man? Everyone’s been drooling over this little tart for years and you offer me five rations?! Get a grip,” Jamie spat.

“Twenty,” another called out.

“Getting warmer,” Jamie laughed. “Come on, boys, she’s never known a man before. This is truly a priceless opportunity.”

“Thirty!”

“Thirty-three!”

“Best I can do is thirty-five.”

“This is preposterous,” Jamie scoffed. “She’s a virgin, and look how cute she is when she cries! If nobody’s gonna make me a suitable offer,” he growled, suddenly grabbing you by your neck and putting his face right against yours, “maybe I’ll keep you for myself, hm?”

You sobbed and tried to squirm away but it was beyond useless, your bound limbs overpowered easily as he held you down and licked a stripe up the side of your face, just to hear you scream behind your gag.

“I’ll take her,” a deep voice boomed suddenly. “A hundred rations.”

“A-- what?” Jamie stammered.

You tried to look around at who it was but you couldn’t see very well in the dark.

“It’s more than enough,” the man continued. “Hand her over.”

“Curtis,” Jamie greeted awkwardly, and your eyes went wide with recognition, “I… didn’t take you for the bartering type.”

That was an understatement. You knew Curtis, like some of the more chivalrous men of the back car, was a long-standing boycotter of this sort of activity. He didn’t even seem interested in the women who wanted to sleep with him, let alone those who were being sold against their will. Seemed like his patience had worn out, and he was finally giving in to his biological needs, no matter who would suffer cruelty along the way. Just your luck that it would be you for sale when he gave up on his morals.

“I didn’t take you for the type to stall when he’s offered a great deal,” Curtis replied coldly. “Now give me the girl and take your payment.”

Something must have changed hands, but you were too busy staring at the corrugated steel floor and hoping it was all a dream that would end any moment.

You lurched back as Jamie picked you up again, tossing you to Curtis who caught you awkwardly.

“Have fun with her,” Jamie encouraged, “make sure it’s loud enough so we can all hear; a little consolation prize for the rest of us.”

Curtis said nothing as he turned and dragged you to his bunk, ignoring your muffled pleas. When he set you down, he kneeled beside you and put a hand on each shoulder to brace you.

“I’m going to take off this gag, and your ties,” he offered, “but you need to stop crying, okay? Everything will be alright. I won’t hurt you.”

You weren’t sure you believed that, but you tried to steady your breathing. Maybe if you did what he said, he would be gentle with you…

You nodded slowly, and he untied the gag. Your sore mouth appreciated the reprieve as you wiggled your mouth around to stretch your lips. You had sort of assumed that whoever bought you would leave the restraints on, so that you wouldn’t fight back. But Curtis was so strong and healthy, he didn’t even need to bind you: your body tensed up again at that realization.

“Shh, shh, calm down,” he requested as he worked on the knot around your feet, “you don’t need to be afraid of me.”

Finally your limbs were freed, though that freedom was wasted on exhaustedly falling to the cold steel floor.

“Use this rag to clean off a little,” he instructed, handing you a cloth that had been soaked in water, “and go back to sleep for the night.”

“You… you’re not going to…?” you murmured, confused.

“I don’t believe in enslavement,” he shook his head. “Your father was a good man; he did a lot for me, even when I had nothing to offer him in return. He told me to pay him back by keeping you safe after he was gone.”

You hadn’t realized your father knew Curtis so well. You’d seen him around, sure, but he was more a stranger than anything.

“Thank you…” you whispered, your voice hoarse and ragged.

“You need to rest,” he whispered back. “You can sleep in my bed-- someone’s already claimed yours, I’m sure. I’ll be on the floor beside you if you need me.”

Your cheeks burned with guilt. “Curtis, don’t do that. You spent so much on me... I don’t want to be any more of a burden.”

“Don’t worry about that now,” he soothed, “we can talk in the morning. Get your sleep.”

After washing yourself hastily with the rag (focusing most on wherever Jamie had touched you), you slipped into the sheets on his mattress, finding him different from the ones you were used to, but comfortable in spite of the unfamiliarity.

Curtis settled in on the floor, and in the near-darkness you could just make out the silhouette of his face as he closed his eyes and relaxed against a roll of tattered clothes as an improvised pillow. You’d always thought he was handsome, and the impression you’d gotten was that he was patient, and honorable, but kept to himself. You could remember just a few nights ago when you never could’ve imagined this being your new life. Although you did wonder if Curtis was simply waiting for the morning to claim you, in the meantime you decided to take him at his word and just be thankful that someone seemingly kind had bought you instead of Jamie or his fellow bidders.

Two weeks later...

If anything, it was odd how little Curtis had asked of you. He didn’t even really talk to you. Even your father expected you to help him with anything you could; sometimes it was just keeping him company, listening to him. But Curtis all but avoided you. All that said, his presence was rarely needed to keep you safe. People respected your father, but they feared Curtis. He wasn’t violent-- well, he wasn’t violent typically. Nearly a week ago he had gone to fisticuffs for you after a man had tried to grope you. The weird thing was that you hadn’t even realized Curtis was nearby: one moment you were alone and being pulled into a stranger’s oppressive form as he purred in your ear, the next Curtis had appeared and shoved him off of you. That seemed to get the point across that Curtis’ things were not to be touched.

Feeling guilty, you decided to do whatever chores you could think of while he was away from his ‘room’ (which was, of course, not a room at all but a bed draped with a canopy of tattered fabric in order to create some privacy). You waited for his return with a little smile on your face, sure he would be grateful for your service and maybe would start to warm up to you more.

“Hi, Curtis,” you greeted with a peppy grin when you saw him approaching, jumping up from where you had been sitting.

“You washed my clothes,” he noticed instantly.

Your smile fell when you realized that he wasn’t happy. “Did I do something wrong?” you asked sheepishly.

“You are not my slave; I cannot make that more clear,” he frowned. “Never do a chore on my behalf again.”

“Please, Curtis. You’ve done so much for me, just let me prove my usefulness.”

“You want to be useful? Stay out of harm’s way.”

“Oh, I see,” you sneered, “you don’t want me to do your chores because I am your chore. Is that all you see me as? A debt you are repaying to my father?”

He seemed confused by that question. “What else could I see you as?”

“A partner!” you protested. “A woman!”

He grabbed you suddenly, pulling you into him by your wrists. “Stop talking like that. I won’t hear any more of it. Just stay quiet and take care of yourself.”

He dropped you as you began to cry, crumpling into a ball on the floor.

“Don’t cry,” he frowned. “Why could you be crying, when all I told you was that you don’t have to do anything?”

“I suppose I should be thankful that you’re not sadistic,” you explained with a shaky, weak voice, “but you’re still plenty cruel to me, I hope you know that. You ignore me completely-- and no one else will talk to me, because they’re afraid to upset you. I’ve never been so alone.”

He sighed and sat down beside you on the floor. “I never meant to…” he trailed off. “I bought you to save you from them. Not because I had any purpose for you.”

“I have no purpose,” you stated plainly, moving from sad to stoic. “Don’t you hear how sad that sounds? Can you blame me for being upset when you’re telling me straight to my face that I’m useless?”

He seemed to at least see where you were coming from with that, looking to the side with an oddly guilty look in his eyes.

Suddenly, he reached to pull up his shirt and you gasped when you saw a cut along his side.

“I fell,” he explained, “and scraped against something.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry,” you comforted to the best of your ability, “I hope it’s not giving you too much trouble.”

“It’s not, but I’m worried it’ll get infected.”

You thought for a moment. “I could… help you clean it?”

“Sure,” he nodded, “that would be nice. Thank you.”

“It’s nothing,” you shrugged as you grabbed a rag to dampen. “I’ll be right back.”

You cleaned his wound in silence, carefully washing away the dried blood, even when he sucked in breaths through his teeth as you touched the sensitive places. The task at hand distracted you from your previous outburst; this was exactly proof of why you needed things to do, you’d go crazy otherwise.

“I don’t think it’ll need stitches,” you informed him as you put the rag away and rolled his shirt back down. “We’ll just clean it again tomorrow and I bet that’ll be enough.”

“Good,” he nodded.

The day was winding down to a close already, and you looked around to see a lot of the people nearby starting to prepare for bed, if they weren’t already on their mattresses with their eyes and ears covered to block out the distractions of those still awake.

“I think you should take the bed tonight, since you’re injured,” you offered. Up until now, you’d been alternating nights on the floor; it was the only compromise you two could come to.

“I couldn’t ask you to sleep on the ground two nights in a row,” he shook his head.

“You’re not asking me to. I’m telling you that I will.”

“I won’t take the bed.”

You crossed your arms and grinned stubbornly. “Then we’ll both be on the floor.”

“Fine,” he sighed with defeat, “I’ll take the bed, but only if you share it with me. I can never sleep well when all I can think about is how cold and uncomfortable you must be.”

You were surprised to hear that, because you had always felt the same way on the nights you were in the bed. Seemed both of you were getting worse sleep than you let on.

“F-fine,” you stammered, realizing how little space the two of you would have to work with on the mattress, “we’ll share it then.”

“Might help with the cold anyway,” he shrugged as he stood up, removing his outermost layer of clothes before slipping behind the curtain that surrounded the bed. You swallowed, as if you hadn’t realized until now that you were going to be in bed with him so soon.

You removed your jacket as well; even though you normally liked to sleep in something less bulky than the dress you were wearing now, you figured he would protest if you were in any state of undress while sharing a bed with him.

As you pulled the curtain aside, you found him already on the farther side of the bed, facing away from you. He was so far off the edge that he surely would’ve fallen if there wasn’t a wall on the other side.

“Curtis, you’re twice my size and you’ve left nearly two-thirds of the bed for me,” you chuckled, slipping into the covers with him and noticing how much space was still left between you. “Relax, won’t you?”

“Alright,” he relented, laying back a little as his shoulder brushed against yours.

“Goodnight, Curtis,” you mumbled as you settled in and got as comfortable as could be reasonably expected, letting your eyes fall shut. Sure, it took awhile, but with a forced relaxation you were able to drift to sleep and stay that way for quite some time.

At some point, you awoke to the softest noise beside you. At first you thought it was just your dream, but then you heard it again-- Curtis was breathing strangely, and you jumped up when you heard a strained noise of pain.

“Curtis!” you hissed into the dark. “Are you hurt? Is everything alright?”

“What?” he stammered, jolting away from you.

“You were--” you started to explain, but then you realized he was palming at his trousers; specifically, he was stuffing his cock back into them. “Oh.”

“I’m sorry,” he sighed, “I didn’t-- sometimes you just-- I never meant to--”

“Are you feeling… frustrated?” you asked him softly, moving a little closer to where he was pressing himself back against the wall.

“It’s fine,” he assured you, “I’m fine.”

“Let me help you,” you pleaded. “I wanted to help you so much, but there was nothing I could do. Let me do this, please. I want you to feel good…”

“Your father, I promised him--” he began, but you interrupted.

“Don’t talk about my father,” you requested. “You kept your promise. I’m safe. Let me thank you for all you’ve done.”

Your hand reached out and made contact with his heaving chest through the thin layer of his shirt, beginning to trail down over his stomach and finally to the hard outline inside his trousers.

“W-wait,” he stuttered quietly, even though you felt him quietly sigh with relief as you palmed at his erection.

“I don’t want to wait anymore,” you whispered-- so quiet even you could barely hear it-- as you leaned in and your nose brushed against his cheek. “I wanted you for so long, Curtis, did you not know? Wanted to touch you… wanted to make love with you…”

He let out a long-held breath as you reached into his trousers and wrapped your arm around his length. It was so hot in your palm; it warmed you in the most intoxicating way.

“R-really?” he murmured.

“Of course I did,” you answered, moving your hand and slowly stroking him. God, the poor man must’ve been so pent-up: he was bucking into your touch already, his cock so hard that you wondered if it was hurting him. “Every woman on the train lusts for you. To have you so close and not be able to do anything about it, it was torture.”

“Nothing compared to what it was like,” he groaned softly, “to want to have you for so long and feel horrible for it.”

You began to pump his cock faster, seeking more of those beautiful noises he was making. The way his length flexed against your palm made arousal tingle all throughout your body.

His hand slipped to the back of your neck, his fingertips brushing up against your hairline and making you shiver. He whispered your name and you felt like putty in his hands, so distracted by your own need that the pace of your strokes faltered briefly.

The two of you stayed like that for a few moments longer-- foreheads pressed together, shivering and shaking and panting in each other’s arms-- before a rush of adrenaline gave you the confidence to speak.

“I want it inside me,” you whispered against his ear. “Please, Curtis, I want you inside me.”

You swung your leg over to straddle him, pushing yourself up off of his chest. He whispered your name with shock as you lifted your tattered dress and pulled it over your shoulders.

“Touch me,” you begged. “Didn’t you want to? I wondered if you did. I wondered how your hands would feel…” you trailed off as you grabbed his wrists and guided his hands to your waist. They were strong and rough, and so hot against your skin that you thought you might just burn up right there. He moved them on his own then, sliding them up to your breasts which he gently grasped. You sighed a little and melted into his touch.

His thumbs teased your nipples, which were already hard and alert. You tried your best to suppress your moans, aware that many other passengers were sleeping nearby. Secretly, the idea that they would hear Curtis pleasuring you was almost titillating. You hoped it would make them all jealous.

“You’re so soft,” he whispered, “and… smooth…”

“Did you long for me?” you asked, your curiosity getting the better of you.

“Yes,” he finally admitted, “yes, I wanted you. I want you now.”

You reached down and grasped his cock again, guiding it to your wet, swollen opening. He made a noise that sounded something like a whimper and a groan as the head of his cock moved through your folds.

As you sunk down, you tried to ignore the burn of his cock stretching you open, though a pained whimper escaped your lips.

Curtis’ hands gripped your hips tight enough to bruise as you slowly took more and more of him into you. His head fell back with a groan, lost in the way your walls gripped him tighter than he thought possible. In that moment, he wanted more than anything to hold you close and never let go.

You shivered as your hips met his, feeling full in a way you could’ve never imagined. It still stung as he forged a new path inside you, moulded you to his shape, but you didn’t mind because it was him.

You were so weak that you struggled to lift yourself on top of him, but he gently guided you to lessen your load. Your body adjusted to him rather slowly, and every time you rocked your hips made you hiss with discomfort along with the sparks of pleasure burning through your gut. Even when it hurt, you wanted more; if nothing else, the noises of his restrained ecstasy spurred you on.

Leaning down, you laid yourself on his chest so that you could hear him better, and him you. His arms wrapped around you and you felt small; normally, feeling small meant feeling weak, vulnerable, scared… but in his arms, it was wonderful. You felt vulnerable, yes, but protected.

Your name tumbled from his lips like a whispered chant as you moved on top of him, and you whispered his name back. The way his cock rubbed against your insides felt so good that you couldn’t even remember that it hurt before, but then again, you couldn’t remember anything from before right now and you didn’t want to.

Your moans got louder and louder, though they were still relatively quiet, but either way they were like music to his ears, sweet and soft and all for him-- just like you.

“S-stop,” he groaned, “you have to stop.”

“Why?” you gasped, feeling a little guilty for not instantly obeying, and yet too lost in pleasure to stop moving your hips.

“If you don’t stop, I’ll come,” he explained breathlessly, “and you could get pregnant.”

You bit your lip, feeling your face warm with an emotion you were sure you hadn’t experienced before. “What if that’s what I want?”

“Fuck,” he sighed.

“What if I want you to come inside me? What if I want to have your baby?” you continued.

You managed to suppress your yelp as he grabbed you and flipped you both over until you were on your back and he was hovering over you.

“Is that what you want?” he asked with a low growl.

“Yes,” you gasped, “Curtis, it’s all I ever wanted.”

“Fuck,” he moaned, pulling back and thrusting into you again. He lifted your legs to rest on his shoulders, nearly folding you in half as he fucked into you so deep that you could scream. You didn’t, but you wanted to. “Gonna fill you up so good… you’re gonna be so full,” he promised, “you’re gonna be mine.”

“I already am,” you promised, “I always was.”

He leaned down to dominate your lips with a searing kiss, fucking you deep and slow but with an increasing ferocity. Each thrust was harder than the last until the most prominent sound was the slapping of skin, your arousal so prominent that it was beginning to leak and drip down your thighs and ass.

“Tell me who you belong to,” he growled, right against your ear.

“You,” you moaned, “I belong to you, Curtis.”

“Fuck yeah you do.”

You gripped his arms tight as you felt your walls spasming with your orgasm-- it was unlike anything you’d felt before, even though you’d touched yourself plenty of times up until now. Already you knew you were going to be addicted to this feeling. Poor Curtis; you were going to be begging him to fuck you day and night if this was how good it felt.

The tightening of your body around him, and the way you bit down on your lip to keep from screaming with pleasure… it was all too much for him to hold back any more, and with a stuttered groan he spilled himself into you.

You wrapped your arms around his neck and pulled him into another kiss. He relaxed on top of you as he reciprocated, both of you basking in the glow of the moment.

“Don’t pull out yet,” you pleaded as the kiss ended, “just hold me a little longer, won’t you?”

“Of course,” he smiled softly, placing one small, delicate kiss to the tip of your nose.

“Did you really want me for so long, like you said?” you pressed, remembering what he’d said and fearing it was just a sweet nothing in the heat of the moment.

“You have no idea how long,” he sighed. “I dreamed of this; of you being mine.”

“Was it everything you imagined?”

“And more,” he assured with a soft laugh. “Best hundred rations I ever spent.”

#how did this turn out so fluffy??? lmao #curtis everett x reader #curtis everett smut #chris evans x reader #chris evans smut #ehhh that's enough tags right?#shamelesshoesforchris

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feminismisstillahatemovement · 2 years

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What's the actual difference between canceling and a boycott? Is it only canceling when it's public? Does only a boycott end when the offending behaviour stops? Can a boycott be malicious or canceling virtuous? When do actions have consequences that are normal, acceptable or even celebrated? Is there a clear-cut line, or is it just a question of politics, which side is doing it to which side?

I would say a boycott is a voluntary choice that individuals can be encouraged to make to not buy or attend or whatever, for their own principled reasons, whereas a 'cancelling' is a move by organizations and institutions to silence an individual from speaking or even working.

Can a boycott be malicious or canceling virtuous?

I can't think of any examples at present of where someone's freedom of speech being shut down by a social media company or university or whatever could be described as virtuous. I suppose if someone is openly calling for people to go out and kill others then there may be a case, but that's already an arrestable offence, so doesn't really come under that heading: there is no reason for a social media company or a university or whoever to take those steps, since the person in question will already be in jail.

Mass boycotts can be begun for malicious reasons, especially when those supporting it are misinformed, but again, that's each individual's choice, not an act of institutional violence against an individual.

Is there a clear-cut line, or is it just a question of politics, which side is doing it to which side?

In different ages there has always been state censorship, and people being silenced because of the power of the church or the monarchy or whoever else holds power, but what is now termed "cancel culture" is all coming from the left, and in service of up-to-the-minute left-wing identity politics.

#cancel culture

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fleurlibelle · 4 years

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CYBERBULLYING within the Sims-Community - Spread LOVE and not HATE - with Tips

This is important to me. Okay, I was thinking back and forth if I should do that, and guess what? I will express my opinion. Because I think it’s extremely important to say something. This Sims-Community, especially here on Tumblr can be a very toxic place at times for simmers who do make a mistake. It’s literally the end of some great simmers who did provide beautiful content, before you judge, hear me out.

Even if you apologize and recognize that you made a mistake and promise to do better it doesn mean anything. Because there are simmers who keep trashing each other out there. You won’t get a second chance by the community to prove you learned from your mistakes and let you be. I’m not a big simmer in this community. Yet, it’s sad to see that BULLYING is obviously accepted. It seems to be okay to keep trashing those who made that one mistake, even after them leaving the community and simmers still join the ride and keep going on that like yeah I'm happy they learned their lesson and left, finally. We don’t need that trash here.

Okay, I’m not religious by any means, but this quote is damn true, and I will say it:

Let them who are without sin cast the first stone.

After all we are humans (from preteen till senior, regardless the heritage and nation). Most simmers tend to forget that behind each profile there is a real human. We tend to make mistakes and in most cases we learn from them.

But is it really okay to keep trashing each other? I mean, we are all here to enjoy what we love the most, and that’s the Sims, right? I get this feeling that you need to fear our Sims-Community because once you do make mistake, mostly without intention, there is no way to recover from that. At least I’m convinced that some simmers are not aware of whatever mistake they made and then realize it, oh damn, this is not what I wanted. But such issues lead mostly to riots up to boycott.

A bunch of Simmers don't think about it how toxic this can be and what it can do to the emotional state. In fact, there is a name for this it’s called cyberbullying.

Let’s face it guys: Causing embarrassment or humiliation isn’t fun, and in most cases, this is happing in our Community with simmers who made a mistake. This sort of behavior is inadequate, and there is no excuse, regardless of the case.

More information on cyberbullying here.

I simply believe in the good within a human's heart. Most simmers who fall into this mixed-up trap called "Real Life vs. Sims Reality" must think about the fact that their stories leave a distinct impression. Maybe some of them just didn't think about the potential consequences that it could hurt someone.

Understandably, some topics are highly sensitive. So here are some tips from a small simmer for all those who fear to make a mistake. If you are a new Storyteller or even a long-time Storyteller please make sure to read my suggestions.

Under the cut I gathered, I hope some useful tips:

Minimize Conflicts: Tips on how to minimize conflicts as a simblr in a multicultural simming community

The Mistake Maker [ You made a mistake now what?]

The Offender [The attacker, who feels hurt]

The Bully [Well, yeah]

Keep in mind I don’t take any side, nor I will. I speak in general terms overall.

Minimize Conflicts

How to minimize conflicts as Simblr in a Multicultural Simming-Community. If you are new to this Sims-Community and you want to prevent being attacked, for what you do. Here are some examples which caused issues in the past. Because some simmers haven't been diverse enough or talked about topics without doing proper research and considering potential consequence that specific choices can cause drama and action you didn’t intend to happen:

Diversity Create SIMS of all nations from all sorts of background (e.g. Age, Nation, LGBT, Transgender, Religion, etc.) Regardless, even if you have your playstyle, which is fine, by the way. But you are a part of a multicultural melting pot from the moment you joining this global Sim-Community. Sure, you can’t make everyone happy but show you are diverse, and you will be loved ;).

Stories: Depending on the topic you choose for your Simstories you always need to keep in mind: Can I hurt someone's feelings with what I say and how I portray it? Is this accurate? Don’t simmify anything without taking such thoughts into account. Simply, because it can unleash a backlash. Writing about certain traditions, lifestyles, cultural or historical facts can be at times tricky. You must be aware that specific topics can blow up in your face. More particularly, if you have no experience with these topics or do not understand their historical implications. As you can hurt real people through what and how you write about situations, relations, and the way you portray it. Some people will resent you. Especially with regard if you want to talk about topics from minority [+ethnic] groups. That goes for relationships, historical events, and everything that can be considered as sensitive. Yo have to think twice before you write about it and dig into such topics.

Pre-work: Be sure to do your pre-work before using sensible topics: Such as historical events and any form of diseases, religion, sexuality, violence, crime, racism, alcohol, abuse, and other aspects that fall into this category.

Research: It is strongly encouraged that you to do a profound and good research before you implement somewhat a heavy topic into your story. Make sure to layout ahead before you post it. Write it and read each line. Think about what kind of impact your words can have. Like could it imply something you don’t want to?

Stereotypes: Can you hurt someone’s feelings with how you portray them without thinking about your intention and what you try to achieve by using a stereotype? Does your reasoning sound logical and valid? Why are you using a stereotype? Explain the reason if it's not clear enough.

THE MISTAKE MAKER

You made a mistake now what?

Show understanding and tell your intention why you did what you did.

Remove Post. If it happened without intention - remove your post instantly.

Don’t take it personally. Don’t let this hurt your emotional state.

You are human. We tend to make mistakes. Always keep that in mind.

Anxiety. If you suffer any form of anxiety, don’t let this go to your heart.

Suicide Thoughts. If cyberbullying achieved this? This not good at all. Please reach out to suicide.org to get help in your country via a helpline simply because life is too beautiful and too precious.

How to deal with digital attacks

Ignore it. Don’t react or respond to negative comments.

Block online haters. As soon they make negative or hateful comments, delete first. They keep going? Block them. Don’t let words hurt you. Yes, you can also block the anon (IP will be blocked) or turn off the annon function in your settings for your inbox. Talk to someone you can trust and report “offensive content” on Tumblr here. Tell that they bully you, keep the messages until you are done with the report, and do screenshots for proof.

Be kind and respectful. Yes, even to haters. It shows that you’re in control of your emotions and that you aren’t letting negativity bring you down.

Stick with your supporters. Keep your followers who do appreciate and understand you. Having a friend nearby if you think you might encounter a hater not only makes it less likely that an incident might happen, but also means you’ll have positive reinforcements just in case.

Reminder. Remind yourself that comments from a hater are a reflection of them and aren’t really about you. People who feel good about themselves don’t need to put others down.

Criticism. Understand criticism can be a sign of pain. People sometimes lash out because they have other life struggles. Negative comments may have nothing to do with you.

Feelings. Acknowledge your feelings. Talk to a trusted adult or friend and get some encouragement and support.

Be yourself. Keep being you. Keep moving forward, pursuing your interests, and being who you are.

OFFENDER

The attacker, who feels hurt

Ask. First ask, what did you mean by saying XYZ?

Intention. Question the intention. Did you intentionally imply XYZ?

Express feelings. You have all the rights but give them the chance to explain themself but be forgiven and show understanding if they tell you they did not want to hurt your feels.

Forgive. If the person apologizes, be forgiven.

Second chance. Did the person learn that their behavior can hurt? Do they do it right now? Well, why not keep following and enjoy, right? Or let them be if you don’t want to follow them any longer.

BULLY

The dickhead that keeps going.

Listen, Bullying is not okay.

You don’t know who is behind that profile.

You don’t know in what emotional state that person is.

Words do hurt even more than physical pain.

It can lead that person to do something dramatic (like suicide etc.)

Your words have an impact, and you don’t know what it can cause and do to someone. Put yourself in their shoes.

Be forgiven.

Unfollow, if you don’t like them any longer but don’t trash that one simmer. This is so NOT cool.

SIDENOTE

Speaking on general terms. Big simmers do have a specific role model function as well. Many, in most instances, several thousand simmers of all ages are following you. It’s your responsibility not to support any form of Cyberbullying.

Because children and young people follow you. They adore and love what you do. Take your role model function seriously and please, don’t support any form of Cyberbullying.

Reblog if you agree.

Much love,

Malia❤️

PS: I love this community because it’s a melting pot of cultures of all nations and background. Let’s make our spot a safe and welcoming place for those who feel unsecure about themself. Don’t judge before you have valid evidence and proof that a human being is evil or bad because of ONE mistake. We all did mistakes in our life.

#sims community #spread love #cyberbullying

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dearoldtuxedo · 4 years

Text

The Love Interest

In 2017, Taft Studios hired a new screenwriter for their popular, and long-running show, The Banana Splits. Her name was Sammie Satterlee, and ever since they recruited her on the staff, she impressed the audience with her diversed setting scenarios.

Some new episodes took up morals that are rarely explored among children, and needed to be talked about more. The Sour Grape girls were given more personalities, rather than being reduced to cute, sassy dolls. She made Bingo and Drooper explicitly POC coded, so that minority children can see themselves in their favorite characters, even allowing some POC to guest star on the show. Bingo spoke Spanish occasionally, and Drooper celebrated Kwanzaa for a holiday themed episode. Stevie was also given a decent dose of character development.

Then, at that year, 2018, Sammie was ready to take on a new challenge: Introduce an LGBTQ+ character. Around this generation, a lot of children's media has been accepting of queer themes. The whole purpose was to help kids acknowledge that queer romance is just the same as the typical heterosexual romance. There is nothing inherently sexual about it.

Plus, Sammie happened to be queer herself. She grew up loving The Banana Splits throughout her childhood, and is still a fan to this day. She also grew up around a lot of homophobia at that time. Projecting sexualities/trans identities onto characters is a method of feeling more accepting, more valid. The same method queer kids on the internet use "headcanons" for. Queer children deserve representation. Sesame Street won't do it, so The Banana Splits might as well.

What better way to have one of the Bananas come out than giving them a male love interest? But, which Banana shall have a love interest? Fleegle seems too independent for a lover, regardless of what gender. Bingo prefers pranks and adventure over romance. And Snorky, even though as old as his fellow band mates, bears childlike innocence, so he's not ready for an adult love interest. The only option left was Drooper.

Yes, Drooper will work, she thought. The poor lion is considered the loser of the bunch. What if he had a sweet darling that would tell him how valid he is? Drooper's so clumsy, he's always falling down. Now, he needs someone to catch him and pick him back up on his feet. Sammie then started to sketch out her ideas.

That's when she conjured up Tux the snow leopard! Tux was short for Tucker, also defining his wardrobe, which was a tuxedo. The reason she chose a snow leopard was due to their majestic appearance, and she wanted Tux to come out as sort of a romantic gentleman. Also, because he should be a feline like Drooper. She drew out a reference concept of Tux, along with additional sketches of him and Drooper acting lovey-dovey with each other, and written a bio.

Tux was presented as a muscled man, a contrast opposite to Drooper's skinny frame. This snow leopard was purposely intended to be the hero to Drooper's damsel in distress. He sure is a handsome fella, but he's pretty dumb as well. That didn't matter. He's perfect for Drooper. Tux would be somewhat special to Drooper, like he understands him, he cherishes him, and he's willing to take a punch in the face for him.

After giving the references to Karl, and a bit of debate, the engineer decided to take a shot at it. Reading through Tux's biography, his personality and characteristics had quite interest Karl. This snow leopard certainly didn't possess the same energy as his other boys. Fleegle was the intellectual leader, Bingo was fun and energetic, Drooper was the butt of bad luck, and Snorky was the baby of the group. Tux was different. It would be quite complicated for a stoic machine to act out all these actions. Unless...

What if he gave this animatronic fully functional emotions? Karl always wanted to try something new. A robot with emotions would probably be his greatest achievement yet. No other engineer has dared to try it out. Not only will the idea be impressive, but his feelings would be very convincing.

After almost a month, Tux was completed. Although he matched his reference drawing perfectly, he appeared to be seven feet tall, instead of being two inches shorter than Drooper. Speaking of Drooper, not only were emotions installed into his databanks, but he was also programmed to fall in love with no one but said lion.

Karl decided to showcase Tux to Sammie. He then activated the mechanical snow leopard. It took some time for Tux to get into motion, but as soon as he saw those humans in sight, he stepped back nervously. He touched around at himself for a moment, and scanned his surroundings. He was now alive, and he wasn't sure how he felt about this. The animatronic walked around the room, picking up items at random. He went back to Sammie and spoke for the first time.

"Hello. I'm... I'm..."

Karl answered for him.

"Tux." "I'm Tux. Pleasure to meet you. ...I think. Say, could you tell me where am I? What is going on? What is my objective?"

Just as Sammie could say anything, the Splits had entered the room. Tux turned his attention towards them by instinct. The very sight of Drooper had already triggered him into love mode. The feeling of seeing the lion was undescribable to him, but since it's in his programming, he knew how to act. He stared at the lion for awhile, then ran over to him. Tux took his paw into his.

"Hello. I am Tux. Pardon me if this sounds so sudden, but, I love you."

The animatronic kissed Drooper's hand, even though he just gapped his mouth open a bit and pressed it against the paw.

"Do you love me?"

Drooper was confused by this abrupt gesture, and had no opinion about it due to his lack of emotions. Still, he responded anyways.

"I love you too, Tux! I love all my friends!"

Tux was quite offended, having to be considered a "friend." Sammie decided to clear things up for the lion animatronic.

"Uh, Drooper, this is Tux. He is your new boyfriend. You know, like, a lover. As in you two are in love. Or at least, pretend to be, for the show."

A new boyfriend? Drooper doesn't remember agreeing to that. He just met the snow leopard, and all of a sudden, they're lovers? The lion isn't sure how he feels about that, especially since he doesn't return the snow leopard's attraction. Then again, Tux is a pretty nice guy. And it's not like they're forcing him to love him back. After all, she did say he could pretend for the show. Since the Splits aren't on the air right now, they might as well just be friends. Drooper shook his hand and greeted the new recruit.

"Very nice meetin' ya, Tux! I'm Drooper! This is Fleegle, Bingo, and Snorky! Welcome to The Banana Splits! Enjoy your stay, friend!"

He still deemed Tux as a "friend." That's not what Tux wanted. He didn't just come alive, fall in love instantly, only for it to turn out to be one-sided. Tux figured, he will get this lion to love him back, even if it kills him.

And so, for the last four days, Tux wasn't ready to be onscreen, so that gave him enough time to win Drooper's affection. The snow leopard had snuck into Rebecca's computer to find information on how to woo a person. Then he'd capture that info into his system.

Tux tried presenting Drooper with a flower (one of the props). He was flattered, took the flower, and patted Tux on the head. But walked away afterwards.

He tried serenading a romantic song, which was performed by the Splits in another era. 🎵I enjoy being a boy, in love with youuuuuuuuuu.🎶 Once again, Drooper was flattered, and applauded his performance, but still, walked away.

Next, he tried the extreme. Tux grabbed Drooper, dipped him, and planted his mouth onto his, giving him a kiss. That only resulted in Drooper pushing him so hard, he knocks him down on his bum.

No matter what technique he tried, his attempts all failed. And Drooper showed no signs of loving him back. Today was scheduled for Tux to make his physical appearance. But before he's ready to be on the show, he discussed his issue with Karl.

"My lover... ...doesn't love me. What have I done wrong?"

Karl knew exactly what the problem was. It's not what Tux has done, but how Drooper feels. The lion animatronic was built to be emotionless, so it's impossible for him to accept a handsome man's gesture. Maybe Karl can fix that.

"Settle down, my boy. You'll get what you want. I promise."

He then called Drooper over for a tune up. The only way for the two's feelings to be mutual is to install the lion with the same features programmed into Tux's databanks. The snow leopard held his hands together tightly. Soon, he and Drooper will be bond together at last. Together, forever. He'll have him close to him. They'll hold hands. The two will spend their entire lives as one until they rust. Karl then motioned that he had the notion of giving the other Splits emotions as well, so that they can embrace Tux like a family member. He wanted to make his greatest achievement feel at home.

“Yeah yeah sure. Now hurry up with the process!”

Suddenly, Rebecca entered the workshop, announcing that the whole "LGBTQ+ representation" project was officially canceled.

While the news of The Banana Splits having an LGBTQ+ character on their show received largely positive from the queer community, they've also gained negative, violent feedback from those who were against it. They were being accused of "attempting to encourage children into sexual acts," and called out for spreading "leftist SJW propaganda."

It gets much worse. Straight parents set up a campaign to boycott the show. Stevie threatened to quit because he refuses to work around a "cybernetic f@gg3t." And Andy, the network executive, blackmailed that he would pull the plug on their show if they let this "gay shit" slip onto TV. Sammie was fired, and the whole assignment was history.

Karl stopped what he was doing, leaving Tux confused.

"Aren't you gonna-" "I'm afraid there's no reason to anymore, my boy." "But, Karl- Drooper- You said I could have what I want! YOU PROMISED!" “I wish I could keep it, but I don't think I have a choice. I'm sorry." "I don't believe it. How could you be SO SELFISH?! HAVE YOU EVER THOUGHT ABOUT HOW I FEEL?! PLUG HIM BACK IN, RIGHT NOW!" “I can't-" "ALL I WANT IS MY KITTEN TO LOVE ME! DOESN'T ANYBODY CARE?!!"

The snow leopard threw a big tantrum. A single stomp on the ground made the floor shake. Then, he shoved items off of counters, and smashed stuff, while screaming at the top of his voice. He was absolutely terrifying at that moment. Tux turned to Rebecca, thinking it was all her fault. She tried to tell him to stand down, but he was too stubborn. He grabbed her by the neck, and pressed her against the wall. With Tux's back turned away, that gave Karl the opportunity to shut him down. Tux let go of Rebecca, and fell over unconscious.

Poor Tux. Maybe giving him emotions was a bad idea. As it turns out, he's not mature enough to know how to handle them, which makes him too unstabled. After that traumatized experience, Rebecca demanded that Karl should get rid of him this instant.

After she left, the three other aninatronics entered the workshop. Karl stared down at Tux for a minute. The snow leopard animatronic didn't mean to cause any harm. He's just a little faulty, with his ardent coding and all. Karl never worked out how he would have Tux cope with his emotions. The engineer couldn't bring himself to throwing out what he thought was gonna be his greatest achievement yet, so he asked his four to dispose of Tux for him. Karl then left the workshop to see if he could calm Rebecca down.

Four of the Splits gazed upon the now deactivated animatronic. They, including Drooper, felt a bit sorry for him. Why put him to waste? There's still some potential in him. The sad case just wanted, and needed, some love like they have had. A new Banana Splits member is still a member. Besides, he was much nicer to them than Stevie.

"What are we gonna do with him?"

So, rather than dragging his metal carcass to the dumpster, they all agreed to hide his body, behind a couple of boxes and bins in the corner. Perhaps he will make himself useful. Someday.

#The one who turned a banana cherry red [Tux]#Dear sweet kitten [Drooper]#Lover cats [Tux and Drooper]#Bleeding heart [Horrorverse]#Homophobia tw

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tvcoroner · 4 years

Note

What is your opinion on Supercorps shamelessly and blatantly telling their followers on both Tumblr and on Twitter to go and rate down the last episode on IMDB? They post and leave the link saying "make sure to show ur absolute disgust by rating this episode 1/10!" as well as linking the official promo from the account and saying "go dislike the promo". This is not exactly something new, they did the same thing literally last year, rating down the "LOLsen" eps (Karamel too) and pro-liking "SCs."

The writers, the producers, and the network don’t give a shit about that. Because the Supercorp fandom can’t ever stop whining, they made it clear to everyone involved as to why it’s happening.

This is going to hurt them more than help. I’ve always said that a big reason behind why they’re not making Supercorp happen is because of the fandom’s literal years of harassment and bullying. And their answer to that is more of the same? The people making the show aren’t stupid, they’re just going to look at that backlash, shrug their shoulders, and move on. It’s the same thing every time, what’s the point of responding to it?

When they did this stuff with “LOLsen” it didn’t achieve anything. That relationship wasn’t made to last, to begin with, it was always going to end. Of course, the more arrogant among them will believe they’re the reason James and Lena broke up, but the writers have shown time again that they don’t really care what the SC fandom thinks.

This is going to achieve only one thing, and that’s to reinforce the writer’s decision not to make Supercorp canon. Anyone with even half a brain knows this is the case, but the toxic SC shippers still do it anyway because it makes them feel good to drag other people down to their level.

I personally don’t mind being at that level because I get to point and laugh at them, but I’m glad the actors mostly stay above it.

In the interest of fairness, I’ll tell them right now exactly how to send a message and that’s to boycott the rest of the season. I’m not saying an episode or two, any weak-willed moron can last a couple of episodes, but the entire thing. Show consistent ratings drop that doesn’t fall within the margin of error and your message gets sent. You don’t need to say or do anything. You literally just do nothing.

Can they do that? I’d say it’s almost impossible, but I’ve learned not to count anyone out completely. It’s far more effective than throwing a temper tantrum online, which hasn’t EVER worked up to this point, or giving a 1 rating, which no one cares about because they know it has nothing to do with the quality of the episode and everything to do with a bunch of angry shippers.

Lower the viewers and you send a message. Up to this point, they have never once managed to impact that aspect of the show, not even a little bit. Even when they wanted to prove the show would get better ratings if they got what they wanted and encouraged people to watch Supercorp/Lena focused episodes, they’ve never actually done that successfully.

Maybe this is their time. Most likely, the following episodes won’t see any real difference, because as I said in another post, the general audience is MUCH bigger than the shipping fandoms combined and they don’t give a shit about the agenda-pushing.

#supergirl #lena luthor #kara danvers #james olsen #william dey

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juliesoutsourcingblog · 4 years

Text

DIGITAL MARKETING 101; CREATING CONTENT TO ENSNARE THE MILLENNIAL HEART

Content is everything.

Content is king.

As digital marketers, we’ve read this proclamation so many times it’s burned in our brains. It’s been said over and over and over- so much that when I see the word “content”, it’s the first thing that comes to my mind. And it certainly is true.

Content still is, and would almost certainly always be, king.

It’s the heart and soul of every campaign. It’s the building blocks where we build our social media following. It’s the magnet that attracts behind every advertisement. It sends our narrative, our story, our message across to our target audience.

It builds credibility.

It establishes authority.

It attracts- which, I think, is its most basic, yet most important function for those of us who use it primarily for marketing.

Now the question arises.

Who do we want to attract?

Of course it’d be nice to think that we could write a piece that would engage and attract the attention of every group and denomination. But we have to be realistic and set our goals accordingly. Every time we create content, just as we always think about the quality of the article, or the infographic, or the podcast that we are creating, we should also be keeping in mind the people who we want to be on the receiving end of our finished product.

For me, those people more-often-than-not, turn out to be millennials. Which then, brings us to the title of this article:

DIGITAL MARKETING 101; CREATING CONTENT TO ENSNARE THE MILLENNIAL HEART

When we think about millennials, most of us often scrunch up our noses and think, pumpkin spice latte, twitter rage, trophies, student debts, entitlement etc. Which is a bunch of harmful stereotypes that does not exactly promote generational unity, but let’s not talk about that.

Instead, let’s define the term: Millennial.

Contrary to popular belief, millennials are not teenagers. Millennials are young adults, whose age range typically fall between 18-35 years, sometimes older (different groups have different opinions on the exact range). To clear any misconceptions, here is the general agreed upon birth years for different generations:

And according to Pew Research Center analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data, Millennials are actually the largest generation in the U.S labor force.

Which is good news for me, and other digital marketers and content creators whose target audience are millennials, for the most part. Because it means that the people we are writing for are earning money. It sounds mercenary, but again- let’s be real here. The main reason why we do content marketing is to attract customers. Prospective clients.

Buyers.

Since the mediums wherein most content creators like me disseminate our pieces are found in the internet, it’s also important to know just how much of our intended audience actually have access in it.

Statista, a site that publishes statistical analysis of facts and figures recently released the following:

SHARE OF ADULTS IN THE UNITED STATES WHO USE THE INTERNET IN 2019, BY AGE GROUP

“The statistic shows share of internet users in the United States in 2019, sorted by age group. During the survey period, it was found that 100 percent of 18 to 29-year olds in the United States were internet users. Overall, 90 percent of the adult U.S. population accessed the internet.”

–STATISTA

The glaring numbers don’t lie. A huge chunk of the majority of the people actually spending time in the internet are- you guessed it- young adults. Again, good news for us, right?

Well, yes.

Also, not entirely.

See, just because they are in the internet, or are in social media, does not mean that they are instantly going to fall heads over heels with our content. Just because I published an article on Tumblr, or posted a link to my blog on Facebook and they happened to see it, does not mean that millennials will automatically start sharing and hitting the like button. There’s always the chance that they might ignore it. Or worse, start hating it so much that I become a victim to the of the prevalent boycott movement, the cancel culture.

Yes, that’s a thing now.

Millennials are like a double-edged sword, so to speak.

There are a lot of pitfalls in making them our target viewers, to be sure. But if there’s one thing that I know from experience, it’s this: the gains and advantages that can be reaped from having millennials as an audience far outweighs the cons.

Having said all that, it’s also very important to remember that this generation is not exactly impossible to please. To capture their attention, there are few things that can be implemented that won’t necessarily cost any money- just a considerable amount of effort from our part.

1. Be conscious of political correctness

Generation Y is a generation of socially conscious individuals. Remember, that these people were raised in a time where equality and awareness are the main advocacies. I am not saying that we need to start turning our backs on our own political beliefs and start catering to theirs- let’s just be mindful enough not trip over sensitive issues in our content unless that is exactly what our purpose is. Let’s try to avoid publishing material that blatantly belittles or discriminates against people because of their race, body type, hair, gender, age, culture, fame (or lack thereof), social status etc. The general rule of the thumb is, to be nice as much as we can, and respect people the way that we want to be respected.

2. Be aware of trends

I’m not talking about eating Tide Pods or mimicking other challenges that are physically harmful. I’m talking about trends in technology, software and social media updates, fashion, clothing lines, restaurants, travel, philanthropic acts and charitable institutions, art, architecture. Of course, we all have our own niche to pay attention to, but with a little bit of effort, there’s an unending number of trending topics out there that are just waiting to be featured no matter what industry we are currently focusing on.

3. Stop sounding like salesperson

In my opinion, this does not just apply to millennials, but to every audience subtype. Stop being so obvious that you are selling something. Instead, tell a story. Make your viewers empathize. Be a friend- someone who actually cares and someone who they can relate to.

Don’t tell them:

Buy my shoes. They have great price compared to other shoes.

Instead, tell them:

I have worked in a corporate office almost all of my adult life, and have always worn heels. I have shed copious amounts of tears from bleeding blisters, and have since learned to always keep a supply of band-aids in my purse and a small first-aid kit in my desk. But what can I do? There’s an office dress code that I apparently agreed to when I signed my contract. I could quit- but then what’d I do for my bills? Should I tell my mother I am unemployed, because I didn’t like my shoes?

That’s when I started to think- why not make my own? Something that I can actually design, something that is comfortable and does not cost a house mortgage.

See where I’m going with this? With more time effort, it’s not impossible to make the part that advertises a certain product or service even more low-key than this. We have to make our selling points part of the natural flow of the narrative. Remember: subtlety is the key.

4. Use millennial buzzwords

Language is dynamic. It’s constantly changing. Time, geographical location, culture, events- these things and more affect the evolution of language so much and with such consistency that it’s almost impossible to determine its original state. As years pass by, people incorporate more and more slangs and new terminologies in their everyday lives.

I won’t say that it’s absolutely necessary to imbue our every article with terms like bop, lit, or salty- just that there are certain terms or “buzzwords” that we can add in our writing that would make us seem more like a peer than a lecturer. It sounds silly, I know, but the goal is to be relatable. Here are some of the words that millennials have been known to use in the past year that could also be used in creating content, within the right context, of course:

Spill the tea

The struggle is real

Trolls

Goals

On fleek

Clap back

Break the internet

Said no one ever

Slay

Adulting

Here’s another advice- we don’t necessarily have to over-stuff our sentences with these buzzwords. Let it flow naturally. The secret is to sound casual, not to overdo the whole thing and end up sounding silly.

5. Inform and educate

The last, but most certainly not the least. The internet, for most of its users, act heavily as a source of information. When people read articles, guides, tutorials, and other types of content, one of the main reasons that they do so, is to learn. But in the event when people are reading for entertainment purposes, it’s still important to make sure that they get to take something out of it.

And even when we end up writing about, say, the dazzling blue waters of a certain Polynesian island, or the breathtaking view atop the Grand Canyon, let’s make sure to inject bits and pieces of interesting facts and advice that would make the reading experience not just fun, but also enriching in a way that would encourage visitors not just to return, but to also share our material to the rest of the digital world.

From the rise to the number of users for the information crowdsourcing site Quora, to the popularity of online entities Mashable, and the types of articles, infographics, quotations, and other forms of shareable materials that young adults are sharing on social media platforms, it is evident that millennials are leaning more and more towards content that contains fascinating information.

It is important to note that most people are heavily motivated by the desire to share something that they think others would also like. For our part, we have to make sure that our products are sufficiently valuable and are interesting enough to warrant their reposts and willing dissemination.

Final words

Always be reminded that in digital and content marketing, researching about the target audience is as important as ensuring that the technical aspects of content creation are on point, and that learning about the trends in the behaviours and opinions of the people we want to send our message to is absolutely vital, because it helps us tailor our content to their tastes and interests.

#contentmarketing #content writing #contentcreator #contentcreation #digitalmarketing #digitalmarketer #blog #blogging #blogger

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ckatmyla · 5 years

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Elsa’s Girlfriend and the Bottom Line [an essay]

It is safe to say that – even nearly six years on from its release – Frozen is still a phenomenon. Despite its over-saturation and the backlash it inevitably faced because of it, Frozen is still a strong film from Disney with great characters, beautiful songs, and a lovely core theme about the power of familial love.

(its only real stumbling block in this blogger's opinion would be its case of 'twist villain syndrome' but we'll just gloss over that for this post.)

Although it is certainly true that this is a film for every age group, it continues to strike a chord the most with kids. I work in a daycare with children ages three to five (most of whom were not even born yet when Frozen was released) and it is still one of the most requested movies for me to show them. They argue over who gets to play as Elsa and Anna during dress up time, and I have even encouraged some of the young boys that it is perfectly fine to like a 'girl movie' if you like the characters so much.

Even though both sisters in the movie are integral to the plot, and I tend to speak about them as a unit, for most of the kids in my class it's all about Elsa. Literally, they don't even call the movie Frozen, they just call it 'Elsa'.

It brings back memories of that Christmas season in 2013 when I went to the Disney store and all of the Elsa dolls were gone, leaving most of the Annas still on the shelf (which made me quite sad, since I tend to relate to Anna more myself).

It's not a stretch to say that Elsa is not only the breakout character of her movie, but a huge part of its crazy popularity. Everyone knows her, knows her powers, and knows her iconic song (whether or not they like it.)

She is an icon to so many people across the world, and as such thee are certain aspects of her future in the Frozen sequel that many people would like to have addressed. Will she continue to harness her powers or perhaps learn from where they came? Will she continue to break down the walls she built up around herself to let her sister closer to her? And possibly the biggest and most controversial question: will she ever find romantic love and if so, will it be with a man or a woman?

While there is something to be said about the fact that Elsa is a strong, independent queen who don't need no significant other of any sort (and as previously stated there are other aspects of her story that need to be addressed just as much if not more so than who she's courting), there is merit in the theory and/or hope a good portion of her fans have that she just might be into girls.

While researching for this post, I read two of the children/middle grade Frozen chapter books: A Frozen Heart by Elizabeth Rudnick and A Warm Welcome by Erica David.

In Frozen Heart, we follow both Anna's and Hans' perspectives during the events of the movie, and during one of the portions from Hans' point of view we learn that Elsa has not only done what we have seen her do (close the gates of the castle to her subjects and isolate herself as much as possible) but evidently turned away any potential suitors looking to court her.

And in Warm Welcome, Elsa an co. travel to the kingdom of Eldora where they meet the queen of that land named Marisol and we see from Elsa's point of view that she finds the queen's name beautiful. Now, one could take that however they wanted, but when I showed that part to my friend she said 'Wow Elsa, how very gay of you.”

Then of course there is the queer-coded subtext of Elsa's story. Being told that she should hide her powers and conceal her true self from the world until she is finally able to accept herself in the now forever-ingrained-in-our-brains earworm.

Now the production team of the movie could have spun her story another way to make the powers more explicitly nothing more with no perceived allegory other than 'being different is okay'. BUT one exchange Elsa has with Anna after they meet up again post-Let It Go makes one wonder. She explicitly says that she left Arendelle so that she could 'be who she is without hurting anybody'. That alone colors her powers in a different light, and makes them far much more than a simple magical ability and closer to the same type of vibe one gets from the subtext of the X-Men.

So, there is definitely some evidence to support the hypothesis that Elsa could be sub-textually queer, but this blog post is centered around the big question: Should it be overtly canon?

While this blogger would be perfectly happy to continue her headcanon that Elsa is asexual (possibly aromantic) and will make it through the entirety of Frozen 2 with no love interest whatsoever, I can also see the other side of the debate.

Most would agree that a female-led animated film hardly ever has a protagonist not fall in love by the end. And when they do they are usually children and so don't need a love interest (Moana and Coraline to name a couple), but they do happen occasionally. Elsa would still be an amazing paragon of female empowerment if she were to remain single, leaving the romantic love story to that of her sister and Kristoff.

BUT what is also abundantly clear is that we have yet to see a main character in an animated film fall in love with a person of the same gender. It would be a game-changer in the worlds of animation and family entertainment, for sure. And while some would say that that type of thing is unsuitable for children to see, most of those people are perfectly fine with the plethora of heteromantic pairs so abundant in animation. (If the argument is that kids shouldn't see romantic love between anyone that would be a different thing, but I have never heard any outcry about that.)

Were Disney even to approach it, there is also the question as to whether or not Elsa is the right character to make that particular story choice. Yes, she is a prime candidate, but as she is one of the most beloved Disney characters possibly ever, there would inevitably be some backlash to her and with that to the Frozen brand (because remember, Disney is foremost all about making money).

The other option some have some up with -to create an entirely new animated film where we star a same-sex couple – has merit as well. It could potentially introduce not one but two new princesses to the Disney Princess lineup and do all of the things that the LGBTQ community and its allies want out of Elsa while giving us a brand new, possibly totally original new story.

This blogger would be completely on board for that as well, but there is also in this idea the possibility of a backlash, or even a boycott. And if the first same-sex animated feature doesn't do well at the box office or in the merch sales, there might not be another one for a long time - if ever again.

Frozen 2 on the other hand – however the quality of the film ends up being – is almost a guaranteed hit before it even comes out. It is sure to rake in both ticket and merch sales by the boatload, even if they do decide to give Elsa a love interest of any gender.

So, the concluding statement should be in favor of giving Elsa a same-sex romantic plotline, right? If they're going to actually do it, doing it with this movie would pose the least risk to the bottom line.

There is one more thing to consider, however: The story.

One of Disney's adoptive child Pixar's founding rules is that 'story is king'. That means that whatever will make the story as a whole stronger and the best it can be is what should be done for any film.

(However you feel about Pixar's latest outings, that's still one of their philosophies).

So, the real final conclusion of this post/essay is that when it comes down to it, Elsa should have the storyline that best fits the overall plot and make Frozen 2 the strongest movie it can be. They could always just throw in a girlfriend for her with no real thought other than 'they want representation'. That is what inevitably failed the attempt of ABC show Once Upon A Time when they decided to introduce a same-sex romance.

If the very first female-female romance in an animated film is going to happen with Elsa, it needs to feel natural and integral to the story. It can't feel tacked-on just for the sake of having it.

The same could be said of giving her a male love interest, or allowing her to remain single. As long as it fits the story and Elsa remains the wonderful character that so many have fallen in love with, any outcome would be fine.

I'm all for Elsa opening up her heart to new experiences like romantic love, as a fan I want that for her. I want her to stay close to her sister and become more confident in her powers, and if the story supports it, find love with whomever her heart desires.

In this blogger's opinion though, anything other than a male love interest for her would be preferable. We already have so very many of those stories told already (even in the same franchise). Elsa deserves something different, something as groundbreaking as she is.

Whatever is in store for our Queen of Arendelle, I can tell you I will have my ticket to the first screening I can find of the sequel in order to find out.

#frozen #elsa #queen elsa #disney #disney animation #lgbtq #give elsa a gf #asexual #homosexual #gay representation #give elsa a girlfriend

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aliya-pro-fitness · 5 years

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How To Stop Craving The Wrong Foods

You wake up each morning with every intention of eating “good” today.

You'll skip the drive thru line on your way to work. You'll refuse to get fast food with co-workers at lunch. You'll boycott the vending machine in the mid-afternoon. And you won't even think about having dessert after dinner. But then your cravings win. Your friend drops by with a big fluffy muffin and a latte for breakfast. A group of co-workers invite you to that greasy spoon down the street for lunch. Cake is passed around at the mid-afternoon staff meeting. And after dinner your honey surprises you with a bowl of your favorite ice cream. You tell yourself that tomorrow will be different. Tomorrow you won't give in to food cravings. But then tomorrow comes with its own special circumstances, and cravings get the best of you once again. Why Do Food Cravings Always Win? Let's face it, we live in a world where food temptations are everywhere...which lead to cravings, which lead to you eating things that you shouldn't. Again. And again. And again. Until you're so fed up with your body that you don't even know where to begin to get yourself back on track. Stores display the most tantalizing junk food items right where you could easily reach them. TV commercials for greasy, fattening foods portray them so scrumptiously that you literally salivate. Sugary snack items have full-page, glossy pictures in your favorite magazines. And as if all of these weren't enough, the people in your daily lif are another, constant source of food temptation. To make matters worse, you've been conditioned since childhood to have a positive association with the act of indulging in your cravings. You use food as a reward. You use food as a source of emotional comfort. You use food as a way to relieve stress. And quickly these associations and uses of food become habit. A habit not easily broken. New Technique to End Food Cravings Food cravings don't need to have the upper hand on you anymore. Here's how you can fight back using your most powerful asset: your brain. Remember that your mind is an amazing thing. Once your mind is made up about something it's nearly impossible to change it. Try This Powerful Mind Exercise: Imagine that you are peacefully floating down a river on a raft. The sun is shining, birds are chirping, and you are having a fun, relaxing time. You feel wonderful about the river because it's making you feel happy. Now change perspectives for a moment. You're now in a plane flying over the river and the raft. Instantly our eye is drawn to an enormous rocky waterfall. Then you look back to the person floating on the raft, having a wonderful time, headed straight for the treacherous falls. With this new perspective of the river, do you think that you'd agree to get on a raft and take your chances floating toward the falls? Laughable, right? You've seen the hidden danger of the river. You know it leads to pain and suffering. Now your negative association (watery death) with the river has replaced your initial positive association (relaxing fun). This is the key to overcoming food temptations and putting an end to food cravings: building negative associations in place of existing positive ones. I'll break this process down for you in two steps: Step One: Create a STRONG Negative Association with Unhealthy Food You may not have realized it, but up until this point you've placed unhealthy, fattening foods on a pedestal in your mind. As long as the wrong foods are on that pedestal you'll continue to give into your cravings and will continue to gain fat. Take the wrong food off that pedestal by listing off everything negative about them...

These foods make you unhealthy.

These foods cause weight gain.

These foods drain your energy.

These foods kill your confidence.

These foods lessen your quality of life.

These foods damage your love life.

Every time that you feel tempted to eat an unhealthy food, focus on your list of negatives. Kick the junk off the pedestal and put something healthy in its place. Step Two: Create a STRONG Positive Association with wholesome foods Now that your mental food pedestal has been cleared, put truly wholesome food items on it. Juicy fresh fruit, crispy vegetables and savory lean meats are the place to start. List off the things that you love about healthy food...

These foods make you healthy.

These foods promote fat loss.

These foods boost your energy.

These foods build your confidence.

These foods improve your quality of life.

These foods enhance your love life.

I encourage you to immerse yourself into the world of healthy, wholesome foods. Browse the aisles of your local natural foods store. Stroll through a farmer's market. Pack healthy snacks to bring to work. Clear your kitchen of junk. Use the technique above consistently and you will soon find that healthy, wholesome foods are your favorite. And craving the wrong foods will be a thing of your past.

Love,

Aliya

@sexyshaped

#diet #fitness tips #health tips #healthy eating #healthy food #Weight loss #weight loss motivation #weight loss tips

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eretzyisrael · 5 years

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Working toward peace in the region also means holding everyone involved accountable for actions that undermine the path to peace — because without justice, there can never be a lasting peace. When I criticize certain Israeli government actions in Gaza or settlements in the West Bank, it is because I believe these actions not only threaten the possibility of peace in the region — they also threaten the United States’ own national security interests. My goal in speaking out at all times has been to encourage both sides to move toward a peaceful two-state solution. We need to reinsert this call back into the public debate with urgency. Both parties must come to the table for a final peace deal; violence will not bring us any closer to that day.

Notice that Omar doesn't say a word about Palestinian obligations in human rights, or in bringing peace. Notice that she doesn't say explicitly that the two state solution must include a Jewish state, only an Israeli one. Notice that she only brings specific examples of bad behavior by only one side that must be protested. Notice the absence of the words "terror" or "Hamas."

Notice also that she uses another dog-whistle - "justice" - a word that means, to the far Left, the dismantling of the Jewish political presence in the region, as something that is inherently racist, while another Arab and Muslim state (that the Palestinian constitution says "Palestine" is) is not a violation of "justice." To the far-Left, "justice" means that Palestinians have the right to move to Israel even four generations after they fled. Omar probably agrees with that definition, always intended to destroy the Jewish state. She dances around her real feelings on that critical component of "justice."

Also notice that Omar doesn't address how her supposed care about universal values doesn't square with her support of BDS - of boycotting only one nation in the world. If everyone is to be treated the same, then why such particularity in punishing only one state in the world with boycotts and sanctions? And the founders of the BDS movement are very clear that they are against a two state solution - how can she support Israel's existence, and what form would Israel take?

#ilhan omar #washington post #duplicity #israel #palestinians #bds

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anthonypaphitis-blog · 5 years

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Click here to claim your FREE boost in knowledge

The mass domination of technology over society has allowed for new and unique ways for key contributors to the marketing industry to sell themselves to the world. However, this has allowed creators to conjure up sly, cunning tactics to draw the average Joe in and take notice of their work - ‘clickbait’.

The concept is self-explanatory. We’re being baited into clicking hyperlinks through low-maintenance, but genius marketing strategies. The process of clickbait is a “piece of content that intentionally over-promises or misrepresents in order to pull users onto a particular website”*. The key take-away from this definition is the “intentional” lying and blagging of information to a consumer, purely to filter traffic through to a particular website or article. What’s striking is that the information on the other side, may not even match the proposed headline on the surface.

Reel ‘em in

For creators, they see us, the recipients of information, as fish waiting to be caught. We get lured into absorbing content, and it’s all thanks to the little strategy that is known as clickbait. Where I’ve found clickbait to be most prevalent is through online news articles - all news outlets do it, but I’ve found namely The Daily Mail and The Sun to abuse its power the most through their headlines specifically.

It really didn’t take long for me to find headline clickbaiting in action - just a couple minutes on The Sun’s Twitter feed was all it took.

In fairness, the headline is semi-accurate, but I think most of us can already gather that this can’t be the full picture. On an outside perspective, it seems as if that your 55p can guarantee that a snake will be named after your ex-boyfriend or girlfriend. For some, that would seem too good to be true. I for one knew there would be some sort of catch to it - there’s something they’re not quite revealing us. Even though I knew this wouldn’t be totally true, for the purpose of this post, I had to find out what this was all about.

Yeah, I did get clickbaited.

Your 55p is actually a donation to a Wildlife Conservation Fund in Australia which enters you into a competition to name a snake after your ex. So, you aren’t guaranteed anything, which the headline doesn’t make clear. Ypur only option to find out these minor details is to, well, click on the link - exactly what the creator wants. And that’s how companies such as The Sun are able to generate so much revenue. A few clicks escalates into thousands, all because of minor details (or lack of them).

YouTubers’ best friend

YouTube has been growing so quickly for a number of years now, and content creators, now knows as ‘YouTubers’ are setting the standard for videography and editing. Opportunists have seen the market in content creation on YouTube, and the monetization aspect alongside it has been a key driver in influencing its growth. With that being said, I’ve found clickbait to be the most effective and prevalent on YouTube, and many creators have no shame in admitting in utilising this practise.

YouTube has become a part of my daily routine. It fills in points in my day that where I’ve not got much to do. Naturally, I’ve logged so many hours just dossing on it, that I’ve come across infinite amounts of video titles that are outright ridiculous, that I don’t bother watching because the content won’t be reflective. In doing so, I’ve noticed that the term ‘and this is what happened’ is one of the most effective phrases in titles to generate clicks.

Yeah, it’s an easy and effective clickbaiting strategy...annoyingly effective in fact.

It doesn’t matter what type of video it is - 24 hour challenge to gaming, as long as you get the sacred phrase in the title, you’re good to go. Boom. Easy views. You’re in the money. It triggers a psychological impulse that’s almost impossible to resist - it’s hard not to be left on a cliffhanger. As humans we’re always intrigued and curious, and that’s why this strategy of clickbait is so successful.

The concept of clicks = money on YouTube has also led content creators to pretty much not care about what they’re producing, especially if they already have a loyal subscriber count which guarantees views. For the most part creators enjoy producing high value content - Casey Neistat is one of the best examples of a creator who produces uses the monetary incentive to encourage him to make outstanding productions. That’s the way YouTube should be done. It’s unfortunate that clickbait has now become a top priority for money generation over the creative side to videography.

Can it be stopped?

To put it simply, probably not. It’s too powerful of a tool, and despite the population becoming more and more savvy with understanding the deeper meaning behind the hidden elements of the internet, it still manipulates psychology. The human race was born to be curious.

However, actively clicking on content is down to the user. It’ll be a huge challenge to boycott viewing content that may not be fully truthful, but it is a potential starting point to begin the fight against clickbait.

References:

*Riggins, N. (2017, July 24). What is Clickbait and Why Should You Be Careful Using It to Promote Your Business? [Blog Post]. Retrieved from https://smallbiztrends.com/2017/07/what-is-clickbait.html

#social media #clickbait #tech #technology #youtube #news

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