Bengisu Şimşek

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

The worse content makes us feel, the more likely we are to keep consuming it.

Our brains prioritize negative and exciting content, especially when we’re in a bad mood.

Curiosity offers a way out by nudging us toward new, more rewarding, choices.

lettersandsciencemag.ucdavis.edu/rage-bait-cu...

Today is my birthday, and as a PhD student, the greatest gift has been receiving ICA acceptance for our paper titled “Who Blames Which Victim? Selections and Interpretations of Crime Dramas about Sexual Violence” Excited to go to Cape Town and meet amazing scholars all around!! #ica2026