Alyson Shontell explains:

Which types of articles get shared online?

Social data company News Whip pulled the 30 most viral Facebook and Twitter stories of the year for Business Insider. The top four slots belong to Buzzfeed, and they're all quizzes. Almost everything that isn't a quiz uses a headline that leaves the reader hanging, forcing them to click for an answer.

They're exactly the kinds of stories media pundits claim are "click-bait." Nonetheless, they spread like crazy.

Here's the most viral stories of 2014 as well as their number of shares and interactions they received on Facebook and Twitter.

1. What State Do You Actually Belong In? - Tanner Ringerud, Buzzfeed

2. What Career Should You Actually Have? - Ashley Perez, Buzzfeed

3. Which Classic Rock Band Are You? - Justin Carissimo, Buzzfeed

4. What City Should You Actually Live In? - Ashley Perez, Buzzfeed

5. She Walked Out On Stage And Blew EVERYONE Away. I Never Expected This, Astonishing! - Petflow

6. Toddler argues with mother over cupcakes; 'Listen, listen, listen, Linda!' - kfor

7. This Is Possibly The Most Dangerous Trail In The World. But The Shocking Part Is Where It Leads. - viralnova

8. Which Mythical Creature Are You? - Keely Flaherty, Buzzfeed

9. Report: Shooting at Fort Hood - Oliver Darcy, theblaze

10. Megyn Kelly refuses to back down to political correctness for talking about how Muslims abuse women - Joshua Riddle, youngcons

11. Which U.S. President Are You? - Lara Parker, Buzzfeed

12. What Kind Of Dog Are You? - Chelsea Marshall, Buzzfeed

13. A Man Takes A Single Rake to The Beach. And When You Zoom Out And See It... Well, Just Look. - viralnova

14. The 60 Most Powerful Photos Ever Taken That Perfectly Capture The Human Experience - distractify

15. Which European Country Do You Actually Belong In? - Buzzfeed

16. What Actress Would Play You In The Movie Version Of Your Life? - Sam Stryker, Buzzfeed

17. Beware Of The 5 lb. Bag Of Sugarless Gummy Bears On Amazon.com – The Reviews Are Priceless! - Ryan Jennings, slightlyviral

18. 2014 Is Going To Be My Year Now That I Know These 89 Genius Solutions To Simple Problems. - viralnova

19. Which Decade Do You Actually Belong In? - Tanya Chen, Buzzfeed

20. What Should Your College Major Actually Be? - Matt Bellassai, Buzzfeed

21. How Many Kids Should You Have? - Jill Smokler, scarymom

22. Oscar Winner Lupita Nyong'o's Speech On Beauty That Left An Entire Audience Speechless - Joseph Lamour, Upworthy

23. A Passer-by Thought This Was A Pile Of Trash. I've Never Seen A More Shocking Transformation. - viralnova

24. Which Biblical Heroine Are You? - Ellie Hall, Buzzfeed

25. The 30 Funniest Notes From Kids Hopelessly Trying To Express Their Feelings - distractify

26. WATCH: Beagle Steals Chicken Nuggets In Epic Style - Huffington Post UK

27. What Period In History Do You Really Belong In? - Sam Stryker, Buzzfeed

28. 33 Unbelievable Places To Visit Before You Die. I Can't Believe These Actually Exist On Earth... - distractify

29. Looking At Tears Under A Microscope Reveals A Shocking Fact. - lifebuzz 

30. This Insane New App Will Allow You To Read Novels In Under 90 Minutes - Christian La Du, elitedaily

Frightening how Buzzfeed has this down to a science.

Sad how predictable Facebook sharers are.

Astonished beyond belief at the absence of Upworthy in this list - and here's why!

Upworthy is too political and people have gotten Upworthy fatigue.

Most of the Buzzfeed ones are quizzes.

All the non-Buzzfeed ones show just how hard it is to game people now.

It's getting harder to replicate this success.

I mean, how many of the above links do you actually want to click on?

I would like to know what period of history I really belong in.

2560

Maybe not specifically then, but likely sometime in the future!

After the robot wars!

toner wars.

After space travel has been mastered.

And teleportation.

You think we'll master teleportation?

Yes I do.

Well that would be exciting. 

If we had long distance teleportation we wouldn't need space travel!