A new and troubling economic model is profiting from our collective fury, and it's making Canadians angrier by the day. The phenomenon, known as "rage bait," involves online content deliberately crafted to provoke outrage, and it has become so pervasive that Oxford University Press named it the 2025 word of the year. From absurd viral recipes to AI-generated political misinformation, this content is engineered to hijack our attention and emotions, with significant consequences for our mental well-being.
The Data Behind Our Growing Anger
This isn't just a feeling; it's a measurable trend. For two decades, Gallup has been tracking global emotional health across 144 countries. Their annual survey asks people to report feelings they experienced "a lot" the previous day. The results show a clear and concerning pattern: emotions like anger, sadness, stress, and worry have all risen steadily over the past twenty years.
Canada is not immune to this wave of negativity. A stark survey released last month by the Canadian Men’s Health Foundation revealed that half of Canadian men aged 19 to 29 are at risk of "problem anger"—a state where anger interferes with daily life, relationships, and work performance.
Why Rage Bait is So Effective and Profitable
The mechanics of rage bait are rooted in human psychology and a lucrative digital engagement model. When we encounter threatening or inflammatory content online, our brains release a cocktail of chemicals, including dopamine, cortisol, and adrenaline. This creates a powerful, if deceptive, internal reward system. Sharing an enraging post or leaving an angry comment can feel momentarily productive, reinforcing the behavior.
This biological response is what makes anger so profitable. Content that sparks fury generates significantly more clicks, comments, and shares than content that is merely amusing. A recent investigation by The Bureau of Investigative Journalism highlighted the extreme financial incentives, profiling a Sri Lankan influencer who claimed to have earned US$300,000 by posting AI-generated, Islamophobic anti-immigration content targeted at a British audience.
Research from Yale University provides further insight, finding that when social media users receive positive feedback—likes, shares—for expressing outrage, they become more likely to express outrage again in the future. In essence, we are being trained by algorithms to produce more anger.
The Legacy Media Contrast and a Path Forward
While the adage "if it bleeds, it leads" acknowledges that negative news has always attracted attention, traditional media outlets are bound by editorial standards that ideally prioritize newsworthiness over pure provocation. The new rage bait economy, largely driven by unregulated social media influencers and AI, operates with no such compunctions.
As author Jonah Prousky argued in the Financial Post, anger should be a rare and productive force that pushes us toward reflection and improvement. The current digital landscape, however, is systematically inducing this powerful emotion every time we pick up our phones, not for societal good, but for profit. The challenge now lies in recognizing this manipulation and seeking more constructive engagement with technology and information.
