Similarly to most people, I try my best to avoid interacting or viewing rage inducing content, but it's everywhere.
Merriam-Webster defines rage bait as "inflammatory content posted online for the purpose of gaining ad revenue through clicks, but it can also refer to trolling behavior, in which someone says or posts something offensive simply for the enjoyment of eliciting a strong reaction."
We've known about it without having a definition for it, but we still continued to consume it once we learned about it's dangers.. The problem with this content is it's usually misinformation, misleading information, or just made up lies that verifiably couldn't be true. The funny thing is, whatever you read or "learned" about does nothing for you and only makes you mad.
The decline in mainstream news has been at the hand of rage bait. FOX, CCN, and CBS have all intertwined rage bait, news, and opinion into their reporting without clear definitions to what is real and what they FEEL is true. It's a disadvantage to companies having opinions vs a social media influencer. One has more power and can "manipulate," while the other is "just some guy" reporting the news. It's disingenuous to think that someone like Joe Rogan isn't mainstream, just because it's not on cable doesn't mean it's not mainstream. He has 11 million followers on spotify...
Why has social media taken over the news? I find it ironic, when people see something on social media that is true, they still wait for mainstream news to clarify it or report on it. Is it because they have better vetting standards? Of course, so why is mainstream news struggling?
The users can't stop feeding into the rage bait on social media and they want a catered bias version of the news. Most people don't want the truth, they want what fuels their emotions and that's their truth. They want the left to be poor people scamming the government, and they want the right to be racist homophobic rednecks. But the truth is, it's all true and not true at all. We've generalized the absolute shit about everyone and everything, but in reality we aren't all the same type of person and all have different perspectives in our sub groups.
I don't want to get my news from Kevinthebutthole reporter on X, but I also don't want to get my news from the likes of CNN, the companies that are going to ignore what people want to hear about and then try to tell you what to care about.
Don't click articles on major news sites with rage bait headlines (Example from Fox: "Trans athlete makes explosive allegations on female ex-teammate's body and grades" like what is that, who cares? How is that front page?)
Don't comment, like, or repost rage bait social media posts whether or not you agree with them. You could be blinded by your version of reality and believe misinformation that coddles your beliefs.
Force news companies and influencers to share sources, especially when it comes to "damning" news, which apparently happens every second of every day on X..obviously with some whistleblower protections.
Demand regulation from the government, we don't need more news companies or influencers, we need more accountability. Especially companies or influencers who don't heavily report on redactions or changes to the stories they got incorrect.
Just stop paying attention to the news, the only way to get them to change is by bleeding their funds dry. You can also use "reading mode" in your browser on most sites (including mobile) and you don't have to pay them for their crappy opinion pieces.
Fix the lives of those triggered, if everyone was living their best life only those who really need to care will be triggered. If I was raking in $20k a month, lord knows I would not give a flying turd about someone applying for SNAP benefits getting the help they need or an old person getting their social security benefits they deserve. I wouldn't care my tax money was used to find out which dolphin is the cutest. It's really that simple.
Identify INFORMATION BAIT vs Rage Bait......look it up, one will give you information, one will give you rage lol
Get behind positive movements instead of anti movements. Positive movements typically help people, and they have volunteer programs. Help people, don't focus on an enemy, focus on empathy.
Work on healing your mental health. Rage bait hits harder when you're not okay.
Stop using tainted social media: X, Bluesky, and Truth Social. They don't care about the truth and will never as long as they keep the echo chamber money rolling in.
In closing, I didn't say much, but I feel like I'm speaking for a lot of the population. We need better from those reporting on the news, big and small. We need to hold lies accountable and we need to stop rage bait in any form. Remember the truth isn't biased. It's only biased when it doesn't fit your version of the world.