Newsroom
Ever notice yourself getting hotter under the collar while scrolling through Instagram, TikTok, or Facebook? You might be falling for “rage bait,” Oxford University Press’ 2025 word of the year.
"Rage bait" refers to posts, articles, or videos deliberately designed to make you angry or frustrated, a step up from regular clickbait. Its use has tripled over the past year as online content increasingly exploits our emotions to drive clicks and shares.
The trend isn’t just global; social media users in Cyprus are feeling it too. From heated political debates in local Facebook groups to viral posts about sports, subsidies, or local news, rage bait can make anyone swipe with clenched teeth.
Oxford picked rage bait over finalists like “aura farming,” the art of building an appealing online persona, and “biohack,” the quest to optimize health or performance. Public votes helped guide the final decision.
“Before, the internet was about curiosity,” said Casper Grathwohl, president of Oxford Languages. “Now it’s about hijacking emotions. Rage bait is a sign of how extreme online culture has become, affecting people everywhere, including here in Cyprus.”
The rise of rage bait continues a digital trend highlighted by Oxford’s 2024 word of the year, “brain rot,” which described the mental drain from endless scrolling. Other dictionaries also named words reflecting tech-driven life: Cambridge chose “parasocial” for imagined celebrity relationships, and Collins went with “vibe coding,” creating apps with AI rather than traditional programming.
For Cypriots scrolling through social media feeds, the message is clear: be mindful of what’s designed to make you mad, it’s probably working.
