Item — HN Reader

> Over time, the content creator and the audience share so many moments together, it becomes an emotional bond and a substitute for people's social needs.

I've wondered about this for podcasts too. I noticed a scary habit where I would play podcasts when I was feeling lonely. Over time, you feel like you're pals with the hosts and something about the audio format checks the social needs box in your brain, thinking that you're hanging out with another human. I don't want to unconsciously sate my social needs with podcasts so I've been more intentional about my listening.

As for people growing attached to the persona, here's an interesting case: https://youtu.be/VJJ90qpzark?t=458

4 comments

There is a good reason why the Kardashians are incredibly successful. They are able to convince their viewers they are part of the family with their shows. I think its because you feel included since most of the show is back-and-forth gossip on family issues where its common for the people in the scene to try and find a solution to a problem where the problem person is excluded from the conversation. As a result, I think the viewer feels more welcome than even one of their family members.

Once hooked, the kardashians make bank because they can sell their fans laxative teas or hair growth gummy bears on instagram through huge ad endorsements

> I think its because you feel included since most of the show is back-and-forth gossip on family issues where its common for the people in the scene to try and find a solution to a problem where the problem person is excluded from the conversation.

Yes. I see this kind of shows as social pornography. But meanwhile pornography is seen as something that you see in private and you are kind of ashamed to recognize that you see it publicly. This social pornography is widely accepted and even children watch it with, usually, their mothers.

Society needs to create a taboo about this kind of shows. It maybe OK to watch them on your own if you need it. But not to include children and not to make it the center of your life.

You are underestimating their power.

These are just the initial iterations of how influence in a hyper connected society works. What happens next we are yet to see. Naturally most people don't think anything good.

Reality TV produced Trump. People forget it(what passes for news+social media news) also produced Obama. Remember he was hailed as the first social media President. After that every single politician, religious and social figure in every country was suddenly broadcasting their daily activities.

Just another avatar of what Reality TV hit upon.

So now the mechanics exist for an enterprising person to exert influence on a large numbers of people like never before. Across all kinds of geographic/social/cultural boundaries. Traditionally such influence has taken decades for famous people to acquire. So the textbook on how to use that influence has been very thin. The outcomes produced were much more based on pure luck than by design.

With big data and thousands of psychological experiments going on, how to use influence vast numbers if peoples lives, for good, is going to increase.

Personally I’ve experienced something like this while reading fiction. The characters are so life-like and endearing in some books that I miss them and feel a loneliness temporarily after finishing. So I guess it isn’t just modern media, humans just have a tremendous capacity and need to connect.

Same here, I actually find the effect from reading fiction to be much stronger than any other form of entertainment. After finishing a series of book, I will tend to be subdued, lonely and slightly depressed.

Fun to imagine an alternative reality where our brains would simply be unable to accept flashing monitor LEDs or vibrating speaker diaphragms as representations of people.

If we can figure out why certain animals are unable to process TV images, we may be able to replicate the effect.

Imho that'd be a step backward.

The ability to interpret rational meaning into the abstract is something that enabled homo sapiens to get where we at today.

You can't just remove that for TV images and expect it not to impact the perception/thinking apparatus as a whole.

I do this with The Office. Playing The Office on Netflix feels a bit like having friends over.