2020 Democrats Making Good on Their ‘No Lobbyist Money’ Promise

Recently, Oxford University Press chose its word of the year for 2025: “rage bait.” For those who don’t know, it’s defined as “online content deliberately designed to elicit anger or outrage by being frustrating, provocative, or offensive.” Rage bait is also the driving force behind one of the most powerful industries in the United States: social media. It has become a debasement of the American media establishment, though a key piece of federal law could help alleviate the issue.

First, the prevalence and scale of rage bait should be established. Though rage bait lacks a precise definition, by combining anecdotally available information about its popularity with social media algorithms that reward such popularity, it can be inferred that there is quite a lot of rage bait out there. Numerous studies, including research from Yale and the University of Chicago, among others, have found that posts that provoke anger and outrage are more likely to be interacted with (i.e., liked, commented on, replied to, etc.) and to remain visible for longer periods, leading social media algorithms to increasingly recommend this content. This creates an environment for the creator that equates rage bait with success; for them, the more outrageous the content, the more likes, shares, and follows it gets, which encourages even more outrageous content. In addition, creators themselves can profit from rage bait if they gain enough of a following. This is how politics is becoming increasingly polarized, especially in teenagers' minds, whose brains are malleable and are exposed to the most rage bait. Social media companies also reap the benefits of uncontrolled online rage; it keeps people on the platforms longer and more often, creating more opportunities for advertisement, which naturally means more cash flowing into the coffers. Once the mainstream media discovered that rage bait created larger profits, they seized the opportunity. Researchers in New Zealand have found that the number of headlines that induce anger, disgust, fear, and sadness has increased in recent years, while joyful or neutral headlines have been steadily decreasing. Teenagers especially have borne the brunt of the negative impacts of social media, with rates of depression and anxiety skyrocketing, according to a study in the Journal of Adolescent Health. The result of all of this is both simple and depressing: Americans generally feel worse about themselves, those around them, and their government.