DeepSummary
Ben discusses the phenomenon of 'rage baiting' on the internet, where content creators purposefully create shocking and offensive content to generate outrage and engagement. He uses the example of a specific TikTok user who has posted racist and explicit videos, including blackface and showing his butthole, solely to provoke reactions and gain views.
Ben expresses frustration with rage baiters, as their content provides no educational or artistic value and solely exists to offend and attract attention. He draws parallels to a vegan activist he previously covered who would make outrageous claims and attach herself to controversies to spread her ideology.
Ben fears that rage baiting is becoming increasingly extreme and normalized on the internet, as creators constantly need to one-up themselves to maintain shock value. He laments the state of the internet where harmful and inappropriate content is rewarded with views and money, encouraging more such behavior.
Key Episodes Takeaways
- Rage baiting is the practice of deliberately creating shocking, offensive content to provoke outrage and drive engagement.
- Rage baiters have no artistic or educational intent, seeking only to attract attention through increasingly extreme provocations.
- Despite being aware of rage baiters' motives, people struggle to simply ignore the offensive content, perpetuating its success.
- Rage baiting is escalating in extremity as creators constantly need to up the shock value to maintain virality.
- The internet's attention economy incentivizes and normalizes harmful, unethical behavior like rage baiting.
- There are acceptable forms of artistic shock value, but rage baiting crosses ethical lines by causing real offense and harm.
- Ignoring or humiliating rage baiters may help counter their tactics by denying them the desired engagement and outrage.
- The normalization of rage baiting reflects a concerning trajectory for ethics and discourse on the internet.
Top Episodes Quotes
- “What the fuck are we gonna have in 2026? We're gonna have, like, someone, like, literally, like, microwaving babies for content and for views.“ by Ben
- “If movies and tv are literally just storytelling delivery methods, they'd be like, like, I must said something that would be. They would give me cancelled my record.“ by Ben
- “He's gonna snap us out of fucking existence. So it's so mind, uh, melting and hurting scene.“ by Ben
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Episode Information
Drama Mama
BENOFTHEWEEK & Studio71
5/22/24