“One of the tackiest things is carrying a luxury bag and flying economy,” a fashion and lifestyle influencer lists out what constitutes tacky behaviour; in her opinion. There isn’t just confidence on her face while she does it, there is condescension in her tone. In no time, the comment section is overflowing with two kinds of people—those rooting for what she said, others vehemently opposing it on grounds of judgement and snobbery. Yet another content creator (cultural influences, to be precise) casually tosses his opinion on how women should wear modest clothes on their wedding day before proceeding to give reasons for it. More women than men join in. The comment section witnesses the process repeat. The purpose is solved. Enough people have already engaged in sharing their two cents. The debate meanders onto historical contexts, cultural references, gender bias, patriarchy and social evils. Rage bait works and how.
Before being voted as the Oxford Word of the Year 2025, rage bait has been dominating as a strategy on social media, raising questions and conversation over digital well-being. More importantly, rage bait has come to depict a deeper shift in how attention is given and how it is sought after.
Reportedly, the word has tripled in usage in the last 12 months. Elaborating on the word being voted as the one of the year, Casper Grathwohl, President of Oxford Languages, said as AI becomes embedded into our daily lives, 2025 has been a year defined by questions around who we truly are. “The fact that rage bait exists and has seen such a dramatic surge in usage means we’re increasingly aware of the manipulation tactics we can be drawn into online.”
How rage bait harms the consumer?
While efficiently serving the content creator, where does it leave the content consumer?
Furious? Frustrated? While at it, with several minutes of the day wasted in an orchestrated debate with random strangers who’ll probably never see the point, let alone agree. There was a time when the internet and most platforms on it were programmed to increase engagement by sparking either curiosity or interest. Now it relies on grabbing attention by hijacking emotions.
Brain rot to rage bait; where are we headed?
Last year’s choice of word, brain rot, captured yet another downfall of online black hole and tangentially explains the existence and success of rage bait.
Also read: '67' chosen as Word of the Year 2025
While brain rot explains the mental drain of endless scrolling, rage bait explains how that short attention span is further captured in split seconds. Collectively, they form an addictive cycle that leaves the user exhausted and frustrated. Adds Grathwohl, “These words don’t just define trends; they reveal how digital platforms are reshaping our thinking and behaviour.”
Influencers who rely on rage-baiting
A slightly more successful offshoot of click bait, rage bait has been the go-to mantra of influencers to drive engagement and traffic on their handles. Politically extreme content has been found successful on X, as has been inflammatory content. A random like is not even the purpose here, but active engagement is and that happens when the user feels furious at a random stranger's opinion. Algorithms are designed to reward outrage and outreach both and rage bait ensures both. Which is why there is no dearth of influencers rage baiting consistently.
Winta Zesu, a 20-something New York-based influencer has made a career out of manufacturing drama. She learned early on that making users angry was a full-proof way of getting views and has been since staging skits confronting waiters and rejecting food and being kicked out of restaurants. In one of the videos, she asks for the egg to be positioned a certain way on her plate before asking for the dish to be replaced. Is she delusional, questioned an angry viewer? “She is insufferable,” answered another. The viral Tik-Toker later admitted to the videos being fake and satirical.
Several studies have been conducted into how the right-wing and political leaders have resorted to rage baiting for driving traffic to their political messages and spread the word out on their campaigns. Inflammatory speeches and misogynistic content are some of the other sure-shot key words for rage baiting. Psychologists opine that while users don’t have the choice of moderating content, however, they have the choice of choosing what they engage with. Angry at something? Skip right past it. Don’t engage.
Follow us
