Mouse Rage

Mouse rage is a particular type of computer rage. It is a behavioural response provoked by failure or unexpected results observed when using a computer. In particular, this is expressed by focusing the negative emotion incurred by the event on a computer mouse.

Symptoms of mouse rage include frantic wiping of the mouse on the mousepad, thumping the mouse on the desk or even throwing it at a wall. In severe cases, mouse rage can result in the total destruction or major loss of functionality in the computer mouse.

The reaction can be provoked by hardware or software events. One common cause of mouse rage is in the use of the Internet, where the website being visited may be loading more slowly than expected, or have a confusing design, causing the user to get impatient and often give up entirely on the site. Other causes include hardware that has ceased working or cannot be configured, through to major data corruption in an ERP system. Another Major cause of Mouse Rage is when the mouse stops interacting with the computer (ie. freezes) due to a looming Blue Screen Of Death or crash or other failure. Recently, a major cause of mouse rage and in fact all types of computer rage is computer gaming. Often if a player is killed repeatedly whilst in an online game by a particular player, they become angry which is often expressed as a form of mouse rage. Lag can also induce mouse rage. Mouse rage, and in fact all types of computer rage whilst gaming are counter productive, as the player loses concentration and can damage equipment, which leaves them vulnerable to enemy attack.

Mouse rage is sometimes referred to as "Mouse Rage Syndrome" or MRS.