New Social App Tackles Rage-Bait & Online Toxicity

A New Approach to Social Media: Sez Us and the Fight Against Rage-Bait

Sez Us, a recently established social application created by Democratic strategist Joe Trippi, is currently focused on developing a platform that actively avoids the use of provocative content.

Understanding Rage-Bait

The term "rage-bait" encompasses any online content specifically designed to generate discord and controversy. This can manifest as deliberately contentious political opinions or even entirely fabricated narratives intended to maximize user engagement.

A recent example includes a satirical content creator on TikTok who garnered 1.5 million views with a post falsely claiming to be filing for divorce due to her husband’s reaction to Taylor Swift.

The Problem with Existing Platforms

The majority of prevalent social networking applications, such as Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), TikTok, and YouTube, inadvertently promote rage-bait.

These platforms often operate creator programs that financially reward users based on view counts. Consequently, content that evokes strong emotional responses tends to attract greater visibility.

Sez Us's Innovative Solution

Sez Us aims to disrupt this pattern by implementing a user-based rating system for posts. Users will be able to evaluate content based on criteria like approval, influence, insightfulness, relevance, and politeness.

The intention is to foster a more thoughtful online environment where users are discouraged from initiating arguments or making inflammatory remarks, and instead, are encouraged to engage in constructive dialogue.

Challenges and Potential Impact

Transforming the dynamics of the social web presents significant challenges. It’s possible that Sez Us functions more effectively as a unique feature rather than a standalone product.

However, the experiments in community-driven moderation undertaken by Sez Us offer valuable lessons that other platforms could potentially adopt and integrate into their own systems.

Ultimately, the success of this approach will depend on whether users embrace the concept of actively contributing to a more civil and productive online discourse.