If the button simply said “Click here,”
most people would still press it.
Tactics Used:
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Urgency: “Do it now — time is running out.”
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Scarcity: “Only one left — don’t miss your chance.”
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FOMO: Fear of missing out remains one of the strongest triggers.
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Intrigue & Excitement: Curiosity isn’t satisfied, it’s exploited.
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Emotional Reaction: When you click, you’re rarely thinking — you’re reacting to the bait.
We live in the Age of the Click. Every screen, every app, every ad is whispering the same thing: “C’mon, tap me… just once.” It’s not technology, it’s psychology. It is called social engineering, which is just a fancy way of saying: we know how to make you push the button.
I’ve been around long enough to know this game isn’t new. It’s older than most of the phones in your junk drawer. The formula never changes—add urgency (“limited time only”), sprinkle some scarcity (“only 1 left in stock”), stir in a little FOMO (“everyone else is buying”), and boom: you’re reacting, not thinking. It’s muscle memory for the modern mind.
And if you think you’re immune, let me tell you a story. Back in high school—five decades ago—we had a hulking computer in the library. It looked like a refrigerator with wires, and right on the front was a big red button that read: “Do Not Press.” So, what did we do? Every lunch break, we pressed it. Result: the entire Miami-Dade school system’s computers would crash. Grown-ups scrambled to figure it out, but the truth was obvious. If you build a button that says “Don’t Press,” kids are going to press it.
Today, the button just moved online. That urgent email about your package? The pop-up saying your account is locked? The discount countdown clock? Same trick, slicker packaging. It’s still a big red button, except now it lives in your inbox, your shopping cart, your notifications.
Here’s the grown-up lesson: don’t click the damn thing. Don’t buy the damn thing. Walk away from the damn thing. The more desperate they sound, the less you should trust it. Learn to ignore 90% of the shiny bait, and you’ll keep your wallet fatter and your mind freer.
Because the truth is, the world will always dangle another button in front of you. The question is whether you’ve learned not to press it.
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