Oxford has crowned ‘rage bait’ as the 2025 Word of the Year. The term is more than just a social trend, but a trap that’s harming our mental health in myriad ways. In fact, it’s intricately connected to ‘brain rot’, last year’s word of the year. Longevity expert Dr Mark Hyman explains how rage bait spikes cortisol and reshapes the brain.
Social media has taken over our lives and what better example than ‘rage bait’ catching on popularity. The Oxford 2025 word of the year is all about the anger trap that you are falling into too often.
What is ‘rage bait’
First things first. ‘Rage bait’, the year’s most trending word, is defined as the online content deliberately designed to elicit anger or outrage by being frustrating, provocative or offensive. Such content is typically designed to drive traffic and engagement to websites and social media accounts.
The engagement is driven by the ‘irrational anger’ you feel while scrolling through such content. While you may think something is wrong with you, that’s not the case.
What’s most concerning, according to Longevity doctor Mark Hyman, is the ‘brain rot’ that happens as a result of such content consumption.
It is to be recalled that ‘brain rot‘ was named as Oxford dictionary’s word of the year in 2024. It means supposed deterioration of a person’s mental or intellectual state, especially viewed as the result of overconsumption of material (now particularly online content) considered to be trivial or unchallenging.
What happens when ‘rage bait’ causes ‘brain rot’
Dr Mark Hyman says ‘rage bait’ can physically change the brain, and by consuming such content online over the time “you become more reactive, less thoughtful, and mentally exhausted.”
“When you consume content designed to make you angry, your amygdala goes into overdrive, flooding your system with stress hormones like cortisol. Your prefrontal cortex (the part of your brain responsible for rational thinking and emotional regulation) gets weaker,” says the expert.
Explaining the connection between last year’s Word of the Year ‘brain rot’ and this year’s ‘rage bait’, the expert says: “Outrage sparks engagement, algorithms amplify it, and we’re left in a cycle of constant stimulation and mental depletion.”
How to recognise ‘rage bait’ online
Dr Hyman says rage bait tactics come in many forms:
- It may come in the form of provocative posts with deliberate controversial opinions designed to spark arguments in comments.
- You may also spot outrage videos with exaggerated comment which can make viewers furious.
- Content sparking political polarisation that has inflammatory content that exploits divisive topics.
- In the age of artificial intelligence, it’s not uncommon anymore to peddle AI generated content that creates fake scenarios designed to trigger emotional reaction.
- The expert says these tactics manipulate our emotions, keeping us engaged while our mental health suffers.
How online content is impacting our brain
Digital distraction is affecting your brains in more ways than previously thought. A 2024 study published in Frontiers in Psychology says such behaviour impairs prospective memory and executive function.
A study published in Human Brain Mapping in 2022 found that excessive media use overstimulates reward pathways, making it hard to find satisfaction offline. Such device use especially at night, according to a National Institutes of Health study can impact quality of sleep, anxiety causes, feelings of depression, and issues related to self-esteem.
How to protect yourself from ‘rage bait’
Dealing with the rage bait and reclaiming peace isn’t as complicated as it may seem. Dr Hyman shares tips to shield yourself from the toxic trend.
- Recognise the pattern and ask yourself if the content is designed to make you angry
- Pause before engaging and don’t comment or share when emotions are high.
- Curate your feed: Unfollow accounts that consistently trigger anger or stress
- Limit exposure: Set boundaries on social media use, especially before bed
- Choose quality content: Seek out informative, solution-focussed sources instead of outrage-driven posts