In the blink of an eye, it’s New Year’s Eve again. Time passes faster than imagined. It was as if it had been "stolen" away. Today, we review the "hot events of 2022" and analyze the psychological truth behind them.
01 Liu Xuezhou incident
On January 24, 2022, Liu Xuezhou, a boy looking for relatives in Hebei, left a suicide note and ended his life on the seaside of Sanya. He was only 15 years old.
During his lifetime, he suffered severe " cyber violence ", which eventually led to tragedy.
In the Internet age of free speech, there are always some people who like to express their emotions as upholding justice, thinking that their own moral judgment is the only truth.
In the absence of positive guidance, the aggressive public opinion of "showing self-existence" has taken over the mainstream, thus triggering online violence, which in itself is also the development process from individual psychology to group psychology .
As more facts are revealed, the temporary public opinion groups that were previously based on emotions and self-expression began to gradually fall apart in the face of the facts.
The correct cognitive camp gradually formed and began to grow rapidly based on more and more basic facts, thus beginning to dominate public opinion on the Internet.
02 Bingdundun is popular
If we want to talk about the top of this Winter Olympics, we have to mention "Bingdundun" as the mascot. During the Winter Olympics, everything about Bingdundun became the object of people's crazy obsession, and it created a grand occasion where "dundun" is hard to find.
Human beings are social animals. People usually think that the object chosen by the vast majority of people must have certain advantages to make people pursue it.
When the group around them suddenly does the same thing, even if it is a ridiculous thing, most people will choose to be consistent with it to ensure that they are not outside the group.
During the Winter Olympics, the vast majority of people, including some public figures, were promoting Bingdundun. Under such group behavior, herd mentality permeates the public, and it is an inevitable trend for Bingdundun to become the top trend.
03 Today, have you " Liu Genghong "?
html In April, Liu Genghong gained 10 million followers on Douyin in seven days, and the social signal of "Liu Genghong Girl" spread rapidly.
, this muscular man who stood out from many anchors and found a new way, successfully started a phenomenal fitness craze with a highly interactive fitness method.
In 1956, psychologists Horton and Wall published an article in the magazine "Psychiatry" and proposed the concept of "parasocial relationships".
Certain audiences often develop a certain attachment to their favorite TV characters or characters and develop an imaginary interpersonal relationship. This kind of relationship has a certain similarity with real social interaction, and Horton and Wall named it "parasocial relationship".
Liu Genghong’s shuttlecock exercise, as an “enhanced version” of parasocial relationships, can give full play to the audience’s initiative and participate in this form of cultural communication.
04 Cyndi Wang became popular again
html In June, Cyndi Wang's classic masterpiece "Love You" performed on Sister Lang's stage brought a wave of memories to many netizens. After the show was broadcast, a large number of middle-aged male fans exploded, awakening the wireless memories of youth in many fans who have already started a family and started a career.
British psychiatrist Neil Burton once said that nostalgia is a vehicle that travels through the suffocating limitations of time and space. When people feel as if their bodies and minds are trapped, they will choose to take the time machine of nostalgia and travel to a destination that feels more comfortable.
Nostalgia can help people store positive energy and bring happiness. When people talk about the past with infinite attachment, they are usually more optimistic and confident about the future.
Especially driven by self-protection motives, when individuals are threatened by the outside world, they will maintain and improve their self-concept through nostalgia, reduce existing stress and anxiety, and gain meaning in life.
In nostalgia, one can reconstruct an intimate relationship with others in the past to gain a sense of social connection and belonging.
05 "Crazy academic master" Pan Zhoudan
"Pan Zhoutan is invited! Pan Zhoutan, 29 years old, graduated from ETH Zurich with a master's degree."
Academic master Pan Zhoudan, when participating in the seventh season of " The Strongest Brain ", turned his head, sideways, and stood up with an expressionless face, striding toward the stage in front of everyone's attention. Because of his cool and crazy attitude and the aura of being a top student, he has aroused a wave of imitation among netizens.
To explore the popularity of "Pan Zhoutan", we can start from the meme theory. Meme theory is an important concept in understanding individual imitative behavior. The word "meme" comes from the ancient Greek mīmēma, which means "something that is imitated".
Large-scale spreading behavior due to imitation is called meme spreading. Dawkins pointed out that the basic elements of memes that spread widely and have great influence include accuracy, rapidity of reproduction and stability of form.
The imitation motivation of individuals is the primary reason why memes can be copied and spread. Social psychologist Talde once said, "Imitation is an innate behavior, an important form of social learning, and plays an important role in the process of individual socialization."
Therefore, when netizens saw Pan Zhoudan's "crazy" appearance posture, they had an instinctive impulse to imitate.
06 Xinjiang 2000 Sheep Fairy
At the end of August, this comely girl from 2000 "Big Wolf Sheep" suddenly became popular on the Internet. She has the appearance of beautiful sheep , and the methods of Big Big Wolf.
"After ten years of herding sheep, no one asks, and once the sheep are known to the world." A gentle and gentle girl, a sheep in 8 minutes, does the most ruthless things with the most innocent face, isn't the contrast cute enough?
contrasts cuteness. In psychology, we have to start with the role schema. Role schema refers to the general cognitive structure about the specific attitudes, qualities and behaviors of various roles formed by individuals through the accumulation of knowledge and experience in the process of socialization. It can also be understood as stereotypes .
We often use schematic methods to process large amounts of information, and to a certain extent, we can predict the words and deeds of specific groups. When an individual suddenly does not follow the routine and makes words and deeds that are not in line with the role schema, it will create a huge contrast and cause our cognitive dissonance.
The brain is very averse to cognitive dissonance, so it will quickly establish new schemas. This process of establishing new schemas reflects the cuteness of contrast.
Well, today’s sharing is here for now! If you like us, remember to follow us~ In the next issue, we will talk about the annual memories in the second half of the year~
