Abstract
This STS research investigates how emotionally manipulative content, or “ragebait”, becomes structurally embedded across social media platforms through the logic of algorithmic engagement. The central research question asks: How do social media algorithms promote emotionally provocative content across platforms, and what are the psychological consequences of this pattern for users, particularly adolescents and young adults? Using the Social Construction of Technology (SCOT) framework, this study reframes algorithmic curation not as a neutral technical process but as a sociotechnical system shaped by the interactions of creators, users, and engineers. SCOT’s principles of interpretive flexibility and stabilization illuminate how ragebait is normalized through shared social meaning and incentive structures within platform ecosystems. This project synthesizes existing literature in order to display how emotional content is constructed and rewarded. The research draws on a multitude of studies to demonstrate that while platform mechanics differ, they all amplify outrage through emotionally reactive feedback loops. By bringing together sources that analyze algorithmic design, user behavior, and mental health, the study reveals how ragebait becomes both culturally normalized and psychologically harmful. This research exemplifies how platform design co-produces emotional manipulation and mental health consequences. It offers a critical lens through which to assess the ethical implications of platform engineering and proposes a more accountable model for understanding algorithmic power.
Reliable access to energy and an understanding of how it is generated and managed are increasingly important in a world facing environmental and infrastructural challenges. This capstone project addresses a gap in both renewable-energy education and low-power sensing technologies by designing and implementing an interactive, self-sustaining system that demonstrates how energy can be harvested, stored, and utilized in real-world conditions. The proposed device integrates renewable energy sources, power management circuitry, and embedded sensing to create a hands-on educational platform that visualizes energy flow and system behavior under varying environmental conditions. Emphasis is placed on robustness, low power consumption, and accessibility, ensuring the system remains functional in off-grid or resource-constrained settings. Through iterative design, prototyping, and testing, the project evaluates system performance, energy efficiency, and educational effectiveness. The results highlight the feasibility of combining renewable-energy technologies with embedded systems to both inform users and promote broader awareness of sustainable power solutions. This work demonstrates how engineering design can be leveraged not only to solve technical problems, but also to enhance public understanding of critical energy concepts.
