Fear is an ancient and conserved response that served humans well enough before the advent of civilisation, but it has become distorted in modern societies where primordial fears can readily transform into phobias. (NLM) This article says it perfectly. One of our great assets as a human has been used, abused, and exploited by institutions of power for thousands of years. This is nothing new, but something we must always keep in mind when consuming ANY media. Tech & mainstream media make money off of attention. More attention = more sponsors & ad revenue, and they’ll use any tool in the box to keep you engaged. We would be wise to understand that fear is one of their greatest assets since it prays on our brains at the deepest level. Bro lets dig into this shit
WHAT IS FEAR PORN: Mainstream Media content that deliberately and enticingly plays on people's fears about disaster, disease and death
IF IT BLEEDS IT LEADS: Negative stimuli draw our attention. Rapid recognition of threat promotes survival (LeDoux, 2012) and selective pressures faced by early hominids did not favor those who ignored the signs of a nearby predator (Oxford Academic)
The Algorithm of Fear:
Solution: Recognizing It’s all bullshit
Fear is an ancient and conserved response that served humans well enough before the advent of civilisation, but it has become distorted in modern societies where primordial fears can readily transform into phobias. (NLM) This article says it perfectly. One of our great assets as a human has been used, abused, and exploited by institutions of power for thousands of years. This is nothing new, but something we must always keep in mind when consuming ANY media. Tech & mainstream media make money off of attention. More attention = more sponsors & ad revenue, and they’ll use any tool in the box to keep you engaged. We would be wise to understand that fear is one of their greatest assets since it prays on our brains at the deepest level. Bro lets dig into this shit
WHAT IS FEAR PORN: Mainstream Media content that deliberately and enticingly plays on people's fears about disaster, disease and death
IF IT BLEEDS IT LEADS: Negative stimuli draw our attention. Rapid recognition of threat promotes survival (LeDoux, 2012) and selective pressures faced by early hominids did not favor those who ignored the signs of a nearby predator (Oxford Academic)
The Algorithm of Fear:
Solution: Recognizing It’s all bullshit