The social media giant’s algorithms are programmed to keep us engaged, which is best achieved through provoking strong emotion—especially outrage. Outrage is intoxicating. Our brains evolved to feel outrage at the transgressions of someone in our group. It was essential to survival. Enforcing social norms, correcting the misbehavior of others also made us feel noble. “When people decide to punish somebody who has behaved unfairly, we see activation in brain areas associated with reward,” Molly Crockett, a Yale University psychologist, told the podcast Hidden Brain. “There’s a visceral
...more
