“A woman’s place is in the home”
“Immigrants should go back to their country”
“No doesn’t always mean no”
Did I trigger you? Do you want to tell me? Well then my rage bait trap worked. Rage bait is internet slang for when someone says something (usually online) in hopes of getting a reaction out of people. If you were to be scrolling through your phone and see a random video of someone saying something you absolutely disagree with, you might be tempted to leave a comment expressing your anger, however if you do, you are contributing to something much bigger than you think.
The judgmental monster in all of us
Rage bait use a very powerful human trigger: judgement. But by leaving a comment, the algorithm behind the post makes it more popular, thus suggesting it to even more people. This causes it to be more and more seen and therefore make money. Sometimes people use rage bait as a form of publicity for their own product. For instance, if you see something on Tiktok that makes you angry, and click on the creator you might see a link to a website trying to sell you something, this is one of the ways that indicate it is probably a scam.
A dark truth lurks
Unfortunately, among those who use rage bait for attention and money, there are some people who actually believe these ideas no matter how extreme. Can you tell what is real and what is not? I can’t.
Alpha, Red Pill, Conservatism
Among the more debated points of view are those belonging to the rising conservatism voices. One of the more disturbing trends is the Red Pill content that is gaining popularity among young boys. Seemingly an easy rage bait tactic–a thread dedicated to creating “safe space” where contributors vent their misogynistic grievances–it is also creating wide group of people who are inspired by it.
This scheme, used to make a small impact on your wallet, is making a much bigger impact on society and the next generation–a ripple effect that could impact the future more than you think. What will happen if the young kids, responsible for building the future, head out into the world with a mindset that was spawned from anger and hatred?
Discussion Questions
- Have you seen or experienced rage bait?
- What was your reaction? (see vocabulary below)
- Now that you know about the algorithm, what will you do now?
- How do you think rage bait effects younger audiences?
- How can we protect them from it?
- If rage baiters are really just trying to make money, is it really so bad?
- Would you ever consider doing rage bait to earn some extra cash?
Vocabulary
Here is a list of words and expressions to help you express your opinions:
Critical:
Manipulative – This seems manipulative
Deceptive – The person is very deceptive
Exaggerated – They exaggerated the situation.
Out of context – That quote is taken out of context.
One-sided – It’s a very one-sided argument.
Unverified – They shared unverified information.
Neutral
Not worth my time – I’m not going to argue about that.
Ignore it – I just ignore that stuff.
Scroll past – I usually scroll past posts like that.
Let it go – Just let it go.
Angry
infuriating – That post is infuriating!
Outrageous – What an outrageous claim.
Disgusting – That’s just disgusting.
I can’t believe this – I can’t believe people fall for this.
So unfair – This is so unfair.
They crossed the line – That really crossed the line.
Surprised
Shocking – That video is shocking.
Unbelievable – Unbelievable!
Ridiculous – This is ridiculous.
Over the top – It’s way over the top.
Mind-blowing – That’s mind-blowing, in a bad way.