This article is featured in Body+Soul and is republished with permission.
Rage bait content is everywhere, and no matter how ridiculous the take, it still manages to anger or upset us. Here’s how to stop it from damaging your mental health.
No matter how often we scroll social media, the speed with which we flick past videos we don’t like, or how many times we tap the ‘not interested’ button, videos, memes and posts on topics we want to avoid still somehow find a way onto our feeds.
Some make us upset, while others remind us just how angry we can get. And even though we hate the opinion shared, subject matter covered or level of misinformation incorporated, we often can’t stop ourselves from watching, even if just for a little bit.
Rage bait goes beyond simply sharing upsetting opinions.
Why is rage bait circulated?
To make creators money
Rage bait can range from content promoting disgusting recipes we’re all bound to hate and ASMR that makes us wince, to misinformation, racist, homophobic, or sexist material.
It’s unfortunately a profitable business move, driving up likes and engagement for young creators trying anything to get views and others who just want to spread hate, and we all fall for it.
Especially in countries like the US, where TikTok’s creator fund is active, content creators are rewarded for the amount of interaction their posts get, regardless of whether people are reacting with rage, disgust or praise.
So, marketing podcaster Andréa Jones explained to the BBC, “some creators will do anything to get more views, even if it is negative or inciting rage and anger in people”.
"It leads to disengagement."
To shape viewers’ beliefs
The Australian National University’s (ANU) Dr Simon Copland is an expert in the manosphere.
He told the ANU Reporter in addition to making money, rage bait can also be generated for political reasons.
“Creating fake news articles – or overemphasising particular parts of news articles – to create anger directed at certain groups of people can lead to political outcomes, such as greater engagement with a political party or right-wing figure. And that’s often deliberately done.”
The honorary fellow added that “the usual suspects for scapegoats” are often blamed, such as women, members of the LGBTQIA+ community, immigrants and people of colour.
How does rage bait affect our mental health?
Many of us use our nightly scroll to decompress after our days, calm down and get ready for bed. So the last thing we want to watch is something upsetting.
Specifically designed to make us angry, offended or upset, it’s not surprising that this content isn’t great for our mental health.
In the short term, rage bait can make us feel bad enough, but if you’re continually watching, reading, or engaging with the content, those feelings can last for a while.
Clinical psychologist and president of the Australian Psychological Society, Sara Quinn told the ABC that in addition to feelings of anger, disgust, frustration and a sense of hopelessness, this content can lead to burnout.
We know social media has a profound effect on our mental health. According to data from the WHO Regional Office for Europe, more than 1 in 10 adolescents (11%) show signs of problematic social media behaviour, struggling to control their use and experiencing negative consequences.
The model of social media platforms also continues to addict us. No matter the content we’re being shown, we continue to scroll.
So how do we save ourselves from rage bait-induced burnout?
How to reduce your risk of burnout
Copland said reminding ourselves that the content is intended to make us angry can help us to give ourselves a minute to disengage.
Look through the creator’s profile; are they sharing mass amounts of rage bait? Can you find information on the issue or topic elsewhere to check if the content contains misinformation or disinformation?
Giving yourself a moment to step away from the posts can help you forget about the disgusting recipe or crazy take altogether before it can really anger you.
Of course, there is some content that’s too triggering not to elicit a big reaction from you.
The content trying to incite hatred and bigotry has no place on social media and is always an unwelcome inclusion in our feeds, but you can try to turn the anger these posts bring out into education.
It’s always good to give yourself time away from social media too, so remember to balance your screentime with activities you know will bring back some joy and hope.
The less you engage with any category of content, the less the algorithm will eventually show you. You can also always block or unfollow to avoid posts you don’t want to see.