Some people would do anything for clicks. After all, every view count adds a cent to a content creator’s bank account. When you are paid based on the number of engagements you can acquire, quantity triumphs over quality content. In some cases, negative reviews are even preferred compared to zero reviews. Due to this, some internet personalities take things a step further and rage bait.
Rage baiting, also referred to as rage farming, is an internet slang that means purposefully creating anger-inducing content just for the views and added engagement purposes. It has been going on a lot these days, especially on fast-growing platforms like TikTok. Statista stated that the platform has surpassed Instagram in terms of users in 2021 and is expected to reach 2 billion worldwide users by 2024. According to a study on Nature Human Behavior, people tend to entertain negative news and headlines rather than positive ones.
the number of intentionally rage-baiting tweets i have seen since all the payouts went out has gone way up. please please if you see a tweet that seems intentionally designed to piss you off thats because it is!! just block and move on. they are trying to get money off of you!! https://t.co/j1WDuspmWD
— devansh (@Devansh1_) May 28, 2024
High engagement is often the goal
Instigating hate towards themselves seems to be how rage baiters thrive. They do not care if they get bashed and lambasted online so long as the views and comments keep coming. After all, negative publicity is still publicity. The more they put out content, regardless of whether it’s positive or not, the more they gain recognition from the public. Once there’s recognition, it can open more doors for the influencer, leading to potential projects and even deals with brands. Some of these influencers could become celebrities if they gained enough traction in public.
TikTok users like Ryan Gawlik have embraced rage farming and made it their brand. As proof of rage baiting and its effectivity towards popularity, he has about 1.2 million followers on his TikTok account. Perhaps one of the most popular rage-baiting videos is about outrageous food recipes.
The videos are mostly made to expect other social media users to mock them. Social media users find the content infuriating but still watch it. Some even leave comments, albeit nasty ones, that add to the engagement. Jane Brain, who is known for her rage bait cooking videos, has over 300,000 followers on Instagram and over 480,000 on TikTok.
Most, if not all, social media users know when they are being rage-baited. Knowing that it would cause a negative emotion, why do we still do it? The negativity bias, defined as our tendency to register and dwell on negative stimuli, must be the culprit. For instance, one would be able to distinctly remember how they got reprimanded by elders but won’t be able to remember the details of being rewarded for efforts done. This could also be linked to social media users’ tendency to doomscroll, or surfing news that will induce sadness, anxiety, or anger.
Rage baiting or just a personal preference
With people mostly connected to the internet 24/7, averaging 6.5 hours every day, commenting or reacting to posts has become the norm. Some people accused of rage baiting will argue that they are just expressing their honest opinions and do not mean to evoke a negative reaction from the public. One example is Benny Blanco’s reaction video of eating a famous fast food meal in the Philippines. While some claimed that it was just an honest reaction, others took it as a blatant disrespect to the culture. Since then, Blanco has put out other related content, and the public has noted that he sounded more respectful while doing so.
No matter what the case is, there is money in every click. And where there is WiFi and a camera, putting out any type of content has become almost as easy as breathing. Practicing caution while sharing content online has always been a reminder, but some take their freedom of expression to an extreme high. Are they wrong? Is it acceptable? It depends, perhaps? One thing we know, and always stand by is we need to surf, share, and engage responsibly online.
Photo Credit: The feature image is symbolic and has been done by Alex Green.
Sources: Robertson, C.E., Pröllochs, N., Schwarzenegger, K. et al. (Nature Human Behavior) / Kendra Cherry, MSEd (Very Well Mind) / Global Web Index
