This form of clickbait has to stop. 

I've noticed a trend on social media lately. Regional specific maps.

Let me pull back the curtain a little here on how the internet works. Anyone who trades currency on the internet is looking for one thing, clicks. It's a cat and mouse game we (content creators) play with you (internet clickers.) We need you to click on the stuff we make. People make careers off of figuring out how to trick you into reading our content. There's a fine line between tricking your readers into clicking and encouraging readers to click.

NOTHING "encourages" clicks more than writing about something local. That's where these maps come into play. Slap together a map with dubious research and you just made content for people in all 50 states to throw up on their website and exclaim "CAN YOU BELIEVE (insert your state) SEARCHED FOR (outrageous claim)! It works for poking fun at your own state or a neighboring state. They are plaguing the internet and each one is dumber than the next.

Let's take a look at this one:

According to this map, this is each state's "relatively uniquely searched Super Bowl recipes by state, past week." What does "relatively uniquely" even mean? Is this real? I almost hope it's all a joke and Google isn't peddling this trash around the internet.

If this does anything, I hope it can educate a few people on what to actually believe on the internet (next to nothing.)

Now, that being said, there are a few funny things on here I'd like to point out.

  1. Illinois - Philly Cheese Steak. I'm pretty sure they spelled Italian Beef wrong there. Pretty much everyone I know made some Italian beef, NO ONE made Philly cheesesteaks. This result is an obvious lie.
  2. Indiana, Alabama - Chicken. Just chicken. It matches the blandness of Indiana but the Alabama claim is a bit far-fetched for me.
  3. Nevada - Potato. Did they just copy off of Idaho?
  4. Mississippi - Green Beans w/ Beef Broth. If I walked into a Super Bowl party and the host had green beans in BEEF BROTH on the table I would, in this order, flip them off, delete them from my phone, and leave.
  5. The Dakotas - Pizza Sauce (North) Marinara Sauce (South). What? This should be added to the argument to combine these states into Megakota. 
  6. Wyoming - Ground Beef. Somehow an even weirder result than "Chicken."
  7. Alaska - Dill Pickle w/ Beef Dip. This one I actually believe. Nothing about Alaska surprises me. Sounds pretty gross though.

Thanks for reading. Good luck navigating the internet after you leave.

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