07 Jul 2011
Why do your mates insist on forwarding pointless news stories and jokes and moral fables to you?
According to Jonah Berger, a professor of marketing at the University of Pennsylvania, it’s not that they are bored, and want to bore us as well: people forward crap to each other because of arousal. Strong emotion activates the autonomic nervous system, he says, which boosts social transmission.
We can’t help ourselves: being fearful, angry and amused are the most likely emotions to cause someone to repost something that makes others think “so what?”
According to Backbytes, being dull, irritating and having no sense of humour also helps. Pass it on.
Add your comment
