Why Rage Bait Is The Word Of The Year
It’s no wonder that rage bait is the word of the year, after all when it comes to social media and the internet, it seems like it is all about…
Shocked sad young man using smartphone reading negative e-mail message feels annoyed sitting on couch in living room. Caucasian guy having gadget trouble problem in apartment. App virus crash concept.
It's no wonder that rage bait is the word of the year, after all when it comes to social media and the internet, it seems like it is all about the rage.
You may have never heard of the phrase, but you certainly have seen it online. For instance, if you want to get someone going, post a "hot take" on anything and you will enrage somebody. The other day I put up a post on our station's Facebook page that simply said " Bad Santa" is a bad movie.
It didn't take long for the rage to come out. Within a matter of minutes I was told that I had no taste and should leave the movie reviews to the professionals. Some even told me that I don't know a hole in the ground to a certain body part.
Now, I didn't set out to post a rage bait just to get people mad at me (lord knows that happens enough), I had just seen the movie in its entirety for the first time and thought it was terrible movie. I had hoped for some convivial back and forth with people who either agreed or disagreed with me, but out came the rage.
How do is Rage Bait defined?
The Oxford Dictionary has announced that "rage bait" is the word of the year for 2025. They define it as, "online content deliberately designed to elicit anger or outrage by being frustrating, provocative, or offensive."
They say it's being used three times more than it was a year ago, but it's not a new term. The first recorded use was over two decades ago.
Someone used it in a forum in 2002 to describe the feeling of someone tailgating you in traffic and flashing their lights to let them pass . . . like they're trying to give you road rage. When you see a post online that is only there to get you going, that's rage bait.
More than a few grammar nerds are raging that Oxford's "word" of the year is actually two words. So, that's ironic of course they can choose whatever they want. If you don't like it, we hope it doesn't give you any rage.
