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Why Rage Bait Works and How Curiosity Can Help Us Stop Doomscrolling

  • by Alex Russell
  • January 20, 2026
  • Self & Society
To provoke outrage is the point of rage bait. Research in communication is starting to explain how rage bait hacks the way our brains decide what we choose to read, watch and even click and swipe online. What’s more, the worse we feel, the more we seem to prefer it.
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