#88 Fear Porn & Focus

The Focus Cast

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)

• Newsmen have exploited this adaptive feature of our brains for their gain, as captured by media maxims such as, ‘if it bleeds, it leads’ and ‘if it burns, it earns’.
• Riding the line: (Direct Threat, Indirect Threat, Merely Negative and Neutral) Direct threats can repel (Someone pointing a gun at you) But indirect threats such as car crashes cause curiosity. Legacy/Social medial know how to ride the line of engagement without fully repelling.

The Algorithm of Fear:

• Pretty much everything you see online, from search results to your Facebook feed, is generated by algorithms. This invisible code prioritizes information that it thinks you’ll like — which can turn your online experience into an echo chamber of identical opinions
• Doom Scrolling: appears as a vicious cycle in which users find themselves get stuck in a pattern of seeking negative information no matter how bad the news is (NLM)
• Moreover, since the online platforms are well aware of what captivates us most by using algorithmic systems, they serve us with the content that will get our attention considering our previous history on the internet (NLM)
• Previous research has revealed a relationship between social media use and increased feelings of depression and anxiety

Solution: Recognizing It’s all bullshit