Outrage
Outrage is the general term for content promoted by social media algorithms designed to trigger an angry or fearful response and maximize the addiction of the user to the platform.
There are many different kinds of outrage content.
- Political content that distorts and amplifies the most extreme and ignorant voices
- People being assholes or doing stupid shit in general
- Racism, misogyny, and other hate speech
- Exaggerated dangers to health, person or property
- Outrageous lies and unbelievable things (flat earth, qanon, conspiracies)
- Clickbait
- Trolling
- Propaganda intentionally spread by foreign governments amplifies all of the above
This type of content elicits a greater reaction than other content because we have a natural instinct to seek out and shame outrageous behavior in society to enforce cultural norms, taboos, and conformity. It feels good to call an asshole an asshole, and hopefully their shame will cause them to try and be a better person in the future.
For an in-depth scientific analysis of outrage porn, there's this article from the Journal of Ethics and Social Philosophy: Moral Outrage Porn by C. Thi Nguyen and Bekka Williams
Evolution Strikes Back, Again
In the close communities where we evolved, the outrage instinct works pretty well. People who were trolls back then were literally sent to live under a bridge.
However, on social media, outrage generates clicks, and therefore revenue. And the people who are doing the outrageous things are not ostracized, they are monetized. This creates a terrible feedback loop where more and more people are influenced by the outrage, they see assholes making money, and they say "I can be an asshole too" instead of just wanting to get away from those people as you would if you met them in person.
THE OVERUSE OF HYPERBOLE WILL KILL US ALL!!!!
Apocalyptic language in modern discourse has become so commonplace that it is no longer possible to tell what is truly a threat to democracy or the future of humanity. In order to get people to pay attention to existential threats like climate change or the rise of fascism in a media climate driven by outrage, many think that the only way to get people to pay attention to these important issues is to greatly exaggerate the sense of impending doom that these issues demand, and resort tactics like throwing soup on art in order to game social media algorithms that reward outrage. While these tactics are often able to go viral and get seen by many people, they don't inspire action, they erode trust and create learned helplessness.
Part of the problem is intentional propaganda from those who profit from these threats--from the oil industry to modern fascists. It is in their interests to use the same hyperbole and outrage against their critics, for it muddies the waters, and encourages a "both sides are crazy" mentality that causes people to tune out instead of turn on. It is also a defense mechanism. If someone keeps calling you a fascist threat to democracy when you think you're just an ordinary conservative, there is a natural tendency to respond in kind.
This creates an information environment where everyone involved in politics, religion, or social activism is part of a conspiracy to take away your freedoms, create an authoritarian state controlled by some cabal of elites, and send society careening off a cliff of moral and/or environmental degradation. It is nearly impossible not to be cynical when we are constantly confronted with these messages.
It is the fable of the Boy Who Cried Wolf on a global scale, with millions of boys crying wolf to billions of villagers, everywhere, all of the time.
Those who value science, truth, and evidence need to resist the urge to use hyperbole and outrage in order to get attention on social media. Instead, work to change the algorithm so that reason and evidence are promoted over clickbait, and continue producing content that would thrive in such an environment. When enough people have had enough and finally tune out the outrage, those who resisted its siren song will be the ones that retain the public trust in that future.
Everyone You Don't Like is Pedo-Hitler
Godwin's Law has demonstrated the tendency for all Internet arguments to eventually devolve into comparisons to Hitler. This is part of an unfortunate tendency towards outrage and hyperbole that is especially present on anonymous or impersonal Internet forums. Besides Hitler, there are a number of other "nuclear ad hominem" attacks that are also becoming popular.
- Fascist
- Communist
- Pedophile
- Baby Killer
- Racial Epithets
- Racist
An algorithm designed to promote harmony or rational discourse would deprioritize any conversation that has descended into Godwinesque hyperbole, but instead they are promoted because they make people angry and more likely to engage.
This exaggerates the natural tendency to exaggerate our arguments for emotional effect. It's hard to get people riled up about the mild center-left proposals of corporate Democrats, so you call them Communists. When that doesn't get people's attention, call them Fascists too, even though those are opposite ends of the political spectrum. If that doesn't work, call them pedophiles. Some people still like communism, but nobody likes a pedophile! That will surely sway the vast majority to your side!
A new taboo against nuclear ad hominems needs to be developed and enforced in social media algorithms. They inherently degrade our ability to consider issues rationally and destroy any hope of meaningful discourse. If you see someone using these attacks, even in support of your on in-group, even if you can point to examples of the Nazis doing something similar, it should be ignored. Do not engage, it is simply feeding the trolls.
Outrageous Videos
The only thing we have to be outraged about is outrage itself!