192
submitted 11 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

Using fMRI scans on 19 lonely fans of “Game of Thrones”, researchers discovered that they processed their favorite characters similarly to real friends in their brains. This suggests that lonelier ...::In lonely people, the boundary between real friends and favorite fictional characters gets blurred in the part of the brain that is active when thinking about others, a new study found.Researchers scanned the brains of people who were fans of “Game of Thrones” while they thought about various characters in the show and about their real frien...

all 28 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[-] [email protected] 74 points 11 months ago

Game of Thrones is the wrong show for caring about the characters...

[-] [email protected] 19 points 11 months ago

I'd think the constant threat of death would make your care for them stronger.

[-] [email protected] 17 points 11 months ago

Not the last four Seasons, people were invincible.

[-] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago

Well, after killing 90% of the good characters, going forward with the killing wasn't just an option anymore

[-] [email protected] 10 points 11 months ago

Sometimes, I think of all the people that name their kids, Daenerys, and then after the last season realized they made a big mistake.

[-] [email protected] 8 points 11 months ago

Idk... it still like the name sounds good and cool. I am a more traditional guy when naming so I wouldn't go for it but still think is a nice name.

[-] [email protected] 6 points 11 months ago
[-] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago

Yeah, that’s the stuff. Give it here?

[-] [email protected] 6 points 11 months ago

Bruh people straight up named their daughters "Khaleesi"

[-] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago

Which isn’t even a name it’s a title like Queen or Empress.

[-] [email protected] 52 points 11 months ago

Is this the same effect that causes religious people to believe they are in a real relationship with their god?

[-] [email protected] 28 points 11 months ago

Also the same one that makes conservative dipshits believe asshole politicians are on their side.

[-] [email protected] 15 points 11 months ago

You just don't know him like I do, man. Soon he'll enact his big plan and fix everything!! He's just waiting until the moment is right to sneak it all past the other side, man!

[-] [email protected] 23 points 11 months ago

Years ago there was a guy on reddit who gave up media for a month. He said he got lonely, and would head out to public spaces just to be around people.

[-] [email protected] 9 points 11 months ago

So if we ban social media, people will return to the real world and socialize, rather than wallowing in an online pit of rage and despair?

[-] [email protected] 18 points 11 months ago

I believe there’s a subplot in Fahrenheit 451 where the protagonist’s wife becomes lost in a surround-screen fictional show that she talks about as if it were her real social life. This is not some aberration but the intended way for it to be consumed - the characters turn and address her directly throughout the show.

[-] [email protected] 13 points 11 months ago

I am not that lonely, but I have imaginary friends who are fictional characters from books and actual people from history. I talk to them in my head when bored, like when folding laundry or driving. I wonder what that would look like in an MRI.

[-] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago

Look at r/tulpas on reddit (no lemmy community as of now)

[-] [email protected] 0 points 11 months ago

I'd look at online gaming.

Classic MMORPGs seem like they would be right up this alley.

[-] [email protected] 9 points 11 months ago

“My best friend, Ramsey Snow…”

[-] [email protected] 7 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

My girl Cersei was just telling me about this the other day. How you have to cut people off before they become real in your mind. Because you know, she and I are the only two people in the world.

[-] [email protected] -1 points 11 months ago

MRI for this makes me think more needs to be spent on cancer research. MRIs don't come cheap if at all for people dying of cancer. GoT? never watched any

[-] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago

You're not wrong, but people also die of behaviors that stem from loneliness. I'd suggest it's not a complete waste to examine.

this post was submitted on 01 Oct 2023
192 points (92.5% liked)

Technology

58150 readers
4781 users here now

This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.


Our Rules


  1. Follow the lemmy.world rules.
  2. Only tech related content.
  3. Be excellent to each another!
  4. Mod approved content bots can post up to 10 articles per day.
  5. Threads asking for personal tech support may be deleted.
  6. Politics threads may be removed.
  7. No memes allowed as posts, OK to post as comments.
  8. Only approved bots from the list below, to ask if your bot can be added please contact us.
  9. Check for duplicates before posting, duplicates may be removed

Approved Bots


founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS