You know that feeling while you learn one thing online and it appears intentionally provocative, nearly manufactured to create outrage? You could have simply encountered “rage bait” – content material intentionally designed to elicit anger with a purpose to improve engagement.
And it has change into so ubiquitous on-line that the Oxford Dictionary named “rage bait” as its Word of the Year on Sunday.
Use of the time period has elevated threefold this yr, suggesting folks know “they are being drawn ever more quickly into polarizing debates and arguments as a response to social media algorithms and the addictive nature of outrage content,” the UK-based dictionary mentioned in a press release.
Almost each main dictionary has named a phrase that pertains to the Internet as their 2025 phrase of the yr, highlighting the expertise’s grip on each day life and the language we use to explain it.
Sometimes, rage bait might be comparatively innocent – a recipe that comprises disgusting meals combos or somebody annoying their pet, companion or sibling. But it has additionally entered political discourse, with outrage used to spice up politicians’ profiles and provoke a series of response and counter-reaction.
Collins Dictionary selected “vibe coding,” a kind of software program growth that makes use of synthetic intelligence (AI) to show pure language into pc code, and the Cambridge Dictionary settled on “parasocial,” referencing the relationships folks kind on-line with somebody they don’t know, as their phrases of the yr.
And final yr Oxford selected “brain rot,” which “captured the mental drain of endless scrolling,” Casper Grathwohl, President of Oxford Languages, mentioned in a press release.
Taken collectively, rage bait and mind rot “form a powerful cycle where outrage sparks engagement, algorithms amplify it, and constant exposure leaves us mentally exhausted,” Grathwohl mentioned.
“These words don’t just define trends; they reveal how digital platforms are reshaping are thinking and behavior,” he added.
Oxford Dictionary let the public select its phrase of the yr from a shortlist that additionally included “aura farming” and “biohack,” posting parody movies on its Instagram to convey the spirit of every phrase.
Aura farming, “the cultivation of an impressive, attractive, or charismatic persona … by presenting oneself in a way intended subtly to convey an air of confidence, coolness or mystique,” was portrayed as a cardigan-wearing, tote bag-carrying man, “always one matcha away from finishing (an) experimental screenplay.”
And biohack, “an attempt … to optimize one’s … health, longevity or wellbeing by altering one’s diet, exercise routine, or lifestyle, or by using other means such as drugs, supplements or technological devices,” was visualized as somebody hooked as much as a inexperienced IV drip and sporting an LED face masks, who had taken “27 phytonutrient-dense plants” by 6:34 a.m.
Rage bait, in the meantime, slopped milk and sugar in all places whereas he made a cup of tea, earlier than choosing his toenails and pouring the milk over himself.