Unless you have actually been outside and living a life in the last decade or so, you have to be aware of outrage culture. Shit like this and this. Articles where ‘reputable’ websites write LOOKING for something wrong or something to bitch about, whether it is a movie or a show or a video game. Something ALWAYS has to be wrong. Just look at the second link there. Why The New Stars Wars Will Be Awesome but Will Also Suck. And by fucking VICE no less. Are you kidding me? An article with that title and that level of “we want to appeal to everyone so we will praise AND insult” is fucking disgusting and it is not journalism. It is pandering to outrage culture because, as a whole, we ALWAYS need something to be pissed off about now. But why is that? Why have we suddenly devolved into a bunch of whiny, narcissistic bitches who cannot be pleased by anything? Oh wait, I know. The internet. The fucking internet gave us a voice, and over the last decade people have realized OUTRAGE gets more of a response than “acceptance” or (God forbid) the approval of something. So outrage culture was birthed out of a generation of people who needed even MORE attention. Thing is, this isn’t bullshit. I write from the inside, and have written for some of the biggest sites on the web. Truth is, this shit is real. This is what we writers are being asked to sell. Anger, hatred, they want us to dissect everything until there is no joy or mystery to be had in anything.
Fuck that, outrage culture needs to be stopped.
So Why Does Everyone Need To Be Mad Or Offended All The Time?
To sum it up in as simple a way for you all as possible, outrage gets a reaction. It really does. Websites and news shows want nothing more than to snag someone in, and they will use any tactic they can. Now, when it comes to social media, outrage is 75% more likely to get an emotional response from someone else than saying something positive or nice. This means outrage brings in other people and soon a discussion is being had. What once was one person talking spreads and becomes more like a debate. But that’s not actually the case. The outrage we writers are asked to perpetuate is click bait. Nothing more. Once you click on an article, we got your business. That is it. You don’t have to like what we said or agree or anything of the sort, but we got your “hit”, so we won. While I despise this method of internet journalism, I can boldly say that not all the sites I write for share the same contempt for it. “Oh, you LIKED that movie, Remy? Well, can you add a couple of things that sucked and pissed you off to the review?” Yes, stuff like that. I am established enough in my career and have enough integrity to say no to these people, but I know a great many writers new to the business who would have to do it were they placed in the same position. Cue outrage culture, perpetuated by everybody.
The Problem Is, It’s Working
You cats are clicking. Honestly. I will give you an example of what editors ask writers to do right now. Let’s say there is a video of a man and a dog playing catch with a Frisbee, and the dog is pulling off some remarkable tricks. Do you know what most editors would want that to be titled right now:
You Won’t Believe What This Man and Dog Are Doing Together.
Bam, it instantly evokes the ideas of something nasty of wrong in your subconscious by the way it is worded. This means you are ten times more likely to click the link just so YOU can be outraged, too. Once you open the link you smile and get on with life, but the funny part is, the title was not wrong. It was just VERY misleading. But this is uniform right now, and it got your click so it worked. I was recently asked to do a write-up about a video game series I really love. But instead of the piece being about the game, the editor wanted me to make it about how other games suck comparably. So there is your outrage. Yes, this game is great, but don’t say that. Mention six or seven other games around it that are like still borns when compared. Yeah, shit sucks. Outrage culture needs to be curb stomped right now lest it gets too big and ruins everything. Like my boy J Stew says about outrage culture:
this is why we can’t have nice things.
So How Do We Avoid It?
Honestly, stop reading shitty sites that treat their fans and readers like a fucking number. Stop reading the massive blogs that have Sony and Warner Bros in their back pockets and kiss all the right asses while kicking the wrong ones. Next time you want to go on Twitter and talk about how this or that pissed you off and disgusted you, stop yourself. Say something nice about something else, instead. The problem here is, we are turning into a society of faceless people who sit hunched over our computers yelling about stuff that makes us mad, instead giving praise to the stuff that makes us happy or using our energy in a way that betters the world. This started with all of us, but it can end now before we truly do become the movie Idiocracy. Understand, if you had one friend who constantly bitched about everything and appreciated nothing, you would stop being their friends. Do you see where I am going with this?
Yeah, we better stop this shit now before we ALL become that piece of shit. Enough with the outrage. It is misdirected and it is silly. Also, it makes us all look like a bunch of whiny children, sitting behind our screens hammering out complaints to anyone who will listen. Just chill. It’s not that serious. It’s just life.
Do you hate outrage culture as much as me. Want to avoid it? Become a REMlin. We love everything, and our meetings are clothing optional. I hope you don’t find that outrageous.
The post Let’s Talk About the Stupidity of Outrage Culture appeared first on Remy Carreiro.
