Oxford Dictionary has chosen the phrase "rage bait" as the "word of the year" for 2025. This was reported by Zamin.uz.
This term, known in English as "rage bait," refers to a method based on manipulating emotions to attract users' attention on the internet and engage them in interaction with specific content. This type of content is mainly created to provoke anger or dissatisfaction and to cause debates.
According to the publisher of Oxford Dictionary, Oxford University Press, this term has been used three times more frequently in the past year. Kasper Gratvol, president of Oxford Languages, commented on this phenomenon, noting that the use and influence on human emotions on the internet is increasing.
He stated that while the internet previously served only to attract interest, today it strives to control human feelings and response reactions. This indicates that online culture is entering a new phase.
Oxford Dictionary had selected the phrase "brain rot" as the word of the year in 2024. This term refers to the negative impact on a person's psychological and cognitive abilities caused by excessive consumption of useless information on social networks.
According to Gratvol, the words chosen for 2024 and 2025 are related. They reflect the influence of algorithms that attract human attention through anger and dissatisfaction and amplify this process.
As a result, such a continuous process leads to mental fatigue. In recent years, manipulative methods on the internet have been expanding.
This reminds users of the necessity to be cautious in the virtual world.
