Part of me thinks it was my own disgust in the model that made the New Yorker article feel it was a negative take on the clickbait industry. That was an ironic feeling, given the context. The portions of the story where it discusses his family life, and the glorification of this person's intelligence... they felt borderline satirical but probably only because I want it to be pointed satire. The 22 year-old former Syracuse student, for instance, quoting Uncle Ben rather than a more auspicious figure (Jesus, Roosevelt) with the same basic quote... It just felt like the Twilight Zone.
I hope that this parasitic method of generating ad revenue with meaningless content languishes rather than flourishes.
I hope that this parasitic method of generating ad revenue with meaningless content languishes rather than flourishes.