Whether you love her or love to loathe her (but seriously, what did she actually do to you?), there's a reason "With Love, Meghan" has shot to the top of Netflix's watchlists this week, and it's not just because she’s decanting packet pretzels into a pretty jar.
...or is it?
This afternoon, I read an intriguing reflection piece by Jonah Peretti, founder and CEO of BuzzFeed. While he went off on a somewhat lengthy rant about AI, algorithms, and the king of Rat Boy Summer who made us all slaves to the algorithm (my words, not his), he made a fascinating point about the type of content that fuels our feeds.
It's called SNARF content, and here's why it has everything to do with why you're watching Meghan Sussex (as I learnt in Episode 2, for the love of organic pasta, do not call her Meghan Markle) make pasta in a pristine all-white Zimmerman set, that would have this toddler mum breathing into a brown paper bag.
Peretti explains that SNARF is "the type of content that gets created and recommended on our feeds is not the best content, but the content that elicits the most compulsive and predictable response from the human brain." He’s not wrong, and I’ve been wondering for a while why we’re so drawn to this sort of content.
SNARF stands for Stakes/Novelty/Anger/Retention/Fear. Its content is designed to get clicks, likes, shares, and comments by playing to your emotional triggers. From ramping up stakes (FOMO), using anger to boost engagement (aka rage bait), to provoking fear, it’s the content that the AI algorithms love to serve up. And the worst part? It's the content we keep consuming.
Breaking Down SNARF
Here’s a quick breakdown of each element of SNARF and how it appears in the content we all love to engage with.
Stakes: This is where creators artificially elevate the importance of their content to make you feel like you need to know it. Example: a Daily Mail article about Meghan’s wardrobe choices for the show. Is it groundbreaking? Probably not. Is it click-worthy? Absolutely. The headline might read, “Meghan Markle’s $200,000 wardrobe cost revealed!” Sure, it’s ridiculous, but we can't help but click. Not to mention, her wardrobe is freaking chic... no notes.
Novelty: Here’s where creators manufacture a sense of uniqueness to trigger your curiosity. Example: Anna Kendrick’s “oh you know” clip, recorded before being interrupted by someone at a movie premiere. Suddenly, that mid-sentence piece of IRL interaction is spun into a meme, and now it’s fueling a vitriolic response about Blake Lively. “What’s the deal with this? Why is everyone talking about it?” It’s not new or important, but it feels like it is.
Anger: You want people to engage? Make them mad. We’re all familiar with rage-bait, designed to provoke outrage, from political posts to everyday trivialities. Whether it’s a post about a celebrity or a company, it’s meant to fuel your rage. We’ve all seen the “controversial” social media post that makes us think, “This will make your blood boil!” And yet, here we are, liking and commenting, and reinforcing the cycle.
Retention: This is where creators use cliffhangers to get you hooked and watching till the very end. Classic example: You’ve probably seen a reel or video that’s withholding information or building suspense, promising you that the “big reveal” will happen at the end. “Wait till the end!” they say. That’s SNARF in action—designed to keep you scrolling, keep you watching, and keep you engaged.
Fear: Nothing drives action like FOMO (fear of missing out). This one’s all about manipulating your anxiety around social status, knowledge, or belonging. “Everyone knows this but you!” screams the content. Whether it’s about the latest trends, cultural moments, or news, fear-based content preys on our insecurities and makes us feel like we’re missing out if we don’t engage.
And on Your Feed...
Don’t think you’re immune to it. Even in your 'for you' feed on Instagram, you’ll find some reel or image that just doesn’t quite fit with the rest of your content. It’s there to make you think, “WTF is that?” It’ll make you click, and then—just like that—it gets your engagement. If you’re anything like me, you might rage, wondering why that random post made it onto your feed. Guess what? That’s all part of SNARF’s charm.
But here’s the twist—good content, the type we want to share with our friends, the feel-good, low-stakes, non-controversial stuff, has been increasingly harder to find. It’s not shown to us because it doesn’t deliver for the overlords like the sneaky SNARF.
Yep, I, too, think of some f*cked up Harry Potter spell when I say that out loud, and that’s coming from a Slytherin.
Enter Meghan’s one-pot tomato pasta recipe.
Truthfully, it doesn’t really matter what she’s cooking. What matters is that it’s so distinctively unoffensive. It's simple. It’s calming. It’s the kind of content that injects joy into the relentless cycle of drama and division.
We crave these little escapes, something that doesn’t try to tear us apart or make us feel helpless. The thing about SNARF is that it thrives on drama and tension. The news, social media, and how we interact with content are often designed to make us feel unsettled. But watching something like Meghan making a candle? That's the content that helps us exhale. It’s not sensationalised; it’s just... pleasant.
Don’t get me wrong, watching Meghan put yoghurt in a bowl isn’t groundbreaking content, but it’s as far from SNARF as you can get. There's no stakes. No anger, retention, or fear. It’s simple, relaxing, and gives us a break from the noise... it’s comforting. In a world where everything feels like it’s designed to provoke a response, Meghan’s laid-back recipes and 11 out of 10 lewks feel like a hug in content form.
It’s a reminder that we don’t always need more drama. Sometimes, we need something to make us feel good. And that, my friends, is the antidote to the never-ending feed of SNARF.
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