Left unchecked, the brain’s reward system for moral indignation leads to the Spanish Inquisition, to witch trials—and to what goes on daily on Facebook and Twitter. Outrage keeps us engaged better than almost anything. This engagement allows social media apps to sell more ads, fueling their bottom line. In priming our natural outrage, an impulse that evolved to keep us alive, social media apps have us tearing each other apart. Like dope dealers—just peddling outrage.
