Lonely people find comfort sources in television characters

Don't think that finding 'Missing' or 'Sibling' characters to get rid of loneliness is just paranoia - recent research has shown that these virtual relationships can help you. people against loneliness and boredom.

The subjects in a study quickly moved from sadness to thinking about periods of rejection in a happy mood when writing about their favorite TV shows and characters. This is a testament to 'social alternative theory', where technology application gives people the feeling of being connected to others while they lack real relationships.

'The feeling of rejection often has a terrible impact on us, because people are a highly social animal,' said Shira Gabriel, a psychologist at Buffalo University, New York, who conducted 4 studies on the subject. 'But with the favorite TV shows, we will no longer feel bored.'

A few studies

In the first phase of this field, most of the results are based on reports from college students. However, the later four new studies conducted later have shown that even relationships with fictional characters may affect people in very real ways.

The results may explain how some TV shows can enchant audiences - which has led psychologists and parents to worry about social consequences. Even science novelist Ray Bradbury has also said that his famous story about the book copying, 'Fahrenheit 451,' actually talks about the blindness of television more than about work. censorship.

In fact, 'Fahrenheit' Midlred character prefers to spend time with her TV 'family' rather than with her husband living next to her. 'Poor, poor family, my family is gone,' Mildred lamented so when she lost her 'family' (ie TV).

There is a lot of evidence that shows how in this real world people are attracted to fictional characters on television, in books and in video games. The fervor for some stories, from Jane Austen's 'Pride and Prejudice' novels to comics and Batman ('Batman') movies, can tell it all.

'If you suddenly feel lonely or in a bad mood one evening, you can pick up a Harry Porter book, you will feel as if you are with Harry or Hermione or Ron,' Gabriel told LiveScience. . She likens this to the use of a diet pill to get rid of hunger, in this case to escape the lack of homosexuality.

Students in one of Gabriel's studies recounted how they turned on their favorite television channels to prevent feeling lonely. And students who write a 10-minute essay about their favorite TV show show less sense of loneliness than students who write about non-favorite programs or academic achievement.

Researchers in three or four studies also impacted the social feeling of students, then used self-assessments to measure their emotional state.Students who spend time thinking about their favorite television programs seem to be inclined to not hurt their self-esteem or fall deeper into a bad mood.

This is consistent with previous studies that have concluded that there is a link between sadness and watching TV more, even though people do not know whether the direction of impact in this relationship is good or bad.

Next steps

Gabriel and her colleagues began to conduct a study on how how fictional fiction meets the needs of social relations that affect people's emotions in the real world.Their work is expected to bring more results for researchers trying to find a link between real-world social relations and the connection to the virtual world.

Sometimes even TV fans can't believe how affected they are by fiction, Gabriel said.

'They think this is almost unreasonable - you watch a show or read a book and you will definitely think' What a fool, these people don't even exist, ' Gabriel said. 'But that is the best thing in human empathy.'

The full study will be detailed in the next May issue of the Social Psychological Test Journal.

People can find solace escaping from loneliness in their favorite TV shows - according to studies by Buffalo University, New York.(Photo: Dreamstime)