Social Media and the Business of Anger

Does the internet run on rage?

If you’ve spent any time online, you know that anger is to the internet as cake is to a birthday party. But why have the interwebs become a place of such division and rage? It’s complicated, but we’ll explain in this Wisecrack Edition: Why We Love Being Mad Online. Just please don’t yell at us.

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Written by Amanda Scherker
Hosted by Michael Burns
Directed by Evan Yee
Editing and Motion Graphics by Jackson Maher
Produced by Olivia Redden and Griffin Davis

Music courtesy of Epidemic Sound

#TwitterWars #Algorithms #Wisecrack

© 2022 Wisecrack / Omnia Media, Inc. / Enthusiast Gaming

[TheCynicalPhilosopher]

Another issue is that a lot people might watch a video like this and think "yeah, it's awful how all those other people (especially people I disagree with) get so worked up and only make things worse. It's a good thing I don't do that." It's our bias blind spot.

[Dethmaster]

Always easier to keep people divided than to unite against authority

[onaraisedbeach]

A few weeks ago, I decided to take a break from Twitter. I was constantly bitter, cynical, grumpy, and impulsive, and was fed up with the effect it had on me and others in my life. Thinking I would not use it for a few days, I ended up taking a 26-day break. During that time, I could not believe how tangible the difference was - not being plugged into the Instant Rage Machine made me happier, catastrophise much less, feel less controlled by dopamine, and just made life MUCH more enjoyable. It was like a switch had flipped, and it made the control that social media has on our lives and societies feel absurd and, frankly, violent.
I'm back on it now, and already notice old, crappy thought patterns seeping back in. I'm dramatically changing how I use the app to curb these, and I can't recommend enough doing the same. You will literally feel happier, healthier and less constantly enraged by day 2.

[royaljunior]

I thought about this after youtube said they were removing the dislike button. Now to show people how much you didn't like something, you have to comment. That change was so clearly made for increased ingadement

[ChrisWood]

I quit Twitter cold turkey for exactly this reason: it wasn’t enriching my life, it was just making me angrier. My solution for the need to get my thoughts out of my head was to write notes and journal, and that has been incredibly helpful.

[ziqi]

I only argue online when my mental health deteriorates. That’s my cue to do some offline activities for a while instead.

[Bo-whiskey]

Social media is a feeding ground for energy vampires.

[RocketSlug]

CGP Grey's "This Video Will Make You Angry" will always be relevant about how anger will naturally propagate itself and fester. Avoid those mind germs!

[dingusdingus]

What I notice about comments to YouTube videos are how poor most people's writing skills are, and how bad their reading comprehension is. Easily 90% of the comments I see are full of misspelled words and abominable grammar and sentence structure. I have formed the impression that the majority of people can't coherently express their thoughts either speaking or in writing. I am now at the point where if I begin reading a comment I will quit and skip it the instant I see a misspelled word or butchered grammar. Saves me a lot of time and conserves a lot of brain cells.

[oldcowbb]

my favourite part is people interpret everything in the worst possible way to get angry about it

[StuckInProgrammers]

I made a deal with myself 4 months ago to only leave comments that put out at least some kind of positive energy online. No ranting, no mean sarcasm, no lecturing, no trying to one-up someone. I delete a lot of responses before I even send them now. It’s helped my mood significantly, & it also leads to less viewing of angry & triggering things in the first place.

[ad]

I used to be the type to get outraged online and get in arguments. Then I had a crazy mushroom trip and realized how unimportant and small I am in the big scheme of things.

Now when I comment online, I try to limit it to being constructive, funny, kind or helpful. I don't feed the trolls. I also consciously recognize and avoid outrage bait. The algorithms sure do try hard to engage me, though.

[GreatBlackMan]

I am really appreciating all the feedback Michael is sharing with us commenters about our pleasant disposition. It feels good to be noticed.

[fourthwallbreak]

My girlfriend threw away my thesaurus. And i am ANGRY. I've never felt so ANGRY and ANGRY about being ANGRY that I don't have a book that can teach me another word for ANGRY and I'm ANGRY about it!

[MattDelaney]

I remember watching a Hank Green video where he argued that we are bad at social media because we are new at it. I agree.
From a business model perspective, think of how many people don't bother with the comments section because it's 'toxic'. The anger model might be easier to formulate, but it leaves some of the market untapped.
Even if you're cynical, it's hard to deny that an untapped market presents a potential business opportunity.

[luanaudio]

As someone who is recovering from anger issues, I avoid engaging in online arguments. If someone says something that offends me, I screenshot it, add to my blacklist folder, and block them.

[cesarignjas]

Love the Smashing Pumpkins quote on the end! it made my day!

[remy]

This is the reason I stopped clicking on political videos/news articles and why I deleted twitter. It’s pointless and only makes me aggravated at people’s stupidity.

[walkerjm]

Best Wisecrack video in a while. Keep it up. And bring back the "The Scene" videos, please.

[Mr.MashenIt]

Anger is evolutionarily integrated inside us all just as this video showed in the beginning. It's no surprise it would be used to gain attention just as sex and fear have when you look at them as something that is instinctual. I often think one of our worst flaws as human beings is we are in denial that we are animals that have millions of years of instincts that drive us subconsciously. We will never rid ourselves of anger but our level of awareness is a unique trait we have and we should encourage awareness of what drives us over pointing fingers first in my mind. Understanding others is a fool's notion if you don't understand yourself in the first place. Know Thyself is a well-thought-out warning, not a platitude and its roots are ancient since this problem is ancient.