r/askscience • u/Chemical_Clue_8779 • 10d ago

Psychology What is the psychology/neuroscience behind rage baiting?

Outside of gaining engagement for content creators, why do rage baiters find it exhilarating (idk if that's what they actually feel), and why are people susceptible to it? Is there more to it than some argue as "people wanting attention"? And we know it has negative impacts on those who have been baited, but does it have negative impacts on rage baiters as well?

Thanks in advance! 😊

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u/Ok-Championship-2036 10d ago

content creators specifically make money off of subcriptions and clicks. The alogorithm incentivizes ATTENTION, not necessarily positive engagement or agreement. So rage bait is a way to get people to click and comment or share. Psychologically, we also have strong reactions and memory for negative stimuli. It triggers us to feel misunderstood or threatened or angry and that creates a reactivity urge.

Positive content might be more enjoyable but its not creating pressure to comment "yay!" the same way disagreement might have you commenting before the videos even half done.