The idea of content becoming viral, reaching millions of people in mere hours, isn’t surprising anymore given it is the twenty-first century and digital age. But deep psychological factors are at work behind the screen of a computer or phone, determining why some things — images or videos — ignite and others simply go unnoticed. It does not whether it’s a meme that touches a nerve, a nascent visual, or a new dance craze, the thing that goes viral hinges most heavily on human psychology. The popularity spread is about three main psychological drivers: emotional resonance, novelty and curiosity, and the Fear of Missing Out (FOMO).

Human brains are programmed to respond to emotion. Content that causes people to get worked up, whether positively or negatively, is more likely to be shared. When individuals come across a piece of content that evokes laughter, sadness, anger, or joy, they are more likely to share it with others, not only because it elicits a reaction but because it satisfies a fundamental social need. Content becomes engaging not because it is exciting, but because emotions add personal relevance that creates a virtually instinctive urge to pass it along.

The case of spread of memes that resonant with common life experiences is a prime example of emotional resonance. Some of these memes deal with things that make people frustrated, embarrassed or just joy in everyday situations like the common struggle to get from A to B, the dreaded socials, or if you outran the old alarm ahead of time, who wouldn’t want more sleep. Here’s the thing about memes: they aren’t funny at first. In fact, they’re often painfully dull. But when they work (and too often they don’t work), they find a way to allude to, and condense shared experiences into, humorous, yet relatable content. These taps into the familiarity that human emotion allows; viewers laugh at themselves, and they encourage you, the viewer, to do the same and share it with the others similarly affected.

Humans are just attracted to novelty. Curiosity is piqued by new and unique ideas, visuals, situations or anything that makes us wonder what or who forces us to explore that unknown. But in a sea of repetitive content, anything that’s fresh or different immediately grabs attention. This is a response that’s actually driven by your brain as it’s evolved for one reason, to explore new environments and learn new things because they’re possible survival advantages. The brain still craves novelty in today’s world, even if it’s not about survival.

Especially good at harnessing that desire is content that flips conventional understanding, or introduces something seen before, but never before. Let’s take optical illusions for instance. Viewers are more likely to share something if it surprises or tickles them, which is why they are more likely to share something they see that doesn’t fit their expectations—like a visual illusion in which two objects that look identical turn out to be different. This content is so engaging because it challenges the brain to solve a puzzle.

It doesn’t always have to be a visual novelty. It can also be conceptual. This desire to explore also comes from ideas that are so new or push so fundamentally at the boundaries of thought or the boundaries of how problems are viewed that established thinking is challenged or entirely new thinking is brought in. Take viral educational content like TikTok videos in which experts break down ideas as simply and uniquely as possible. The form this content takes allows it to be shareable and memorable, making it easy to ingest new information both in a format that amplifies its value as knowledge and one that satisfies the brain’s need to understand the world around it.

In particular, novelty becomes particularly potent in the social media context. These platforms have algorithms built in which push fresh content because it keeps people entertained and engaged, so they come back for more. This creates a positive feedback loop, and that content perceived as new gets noticed and seen more often, making it more popular.

It’s FOMO (the Fear of Missing Out) one of the most powerful psychological factors behind the spread of popular content. In a world of social media where trends change fast, and everyone is connected, it’s too easy to lose relevance and engagement. The fear that other people are having fun or are experiencing something exciting but you aren’t, a.k.a. FOMO, is driving people to wrestle with trending content.

The reason for FOMO living in the digital age is that you are able to see what everyone is doing. Influencers, celebrities, and even friends join when they see people engaging in a viral video or trend, and it feels almost impossible to ignore. This desire to be “in the loop” and not miss out on what everyone else is talking about propels people to watch, comment, and share, even if they might not be genuinely interested in the content. So powerful is the fear that these same people would jump on the bandwagon even with things they shouldn’t care about.

Among viral challenges, like dance routines on TikTok, FOMO is the perfect example. When a new viral dance challenge happens, users start to learn and post their own ‘version’ of it. Though there may not be many among those who would in fact normally go looking for such trends, the fear of missing out on a global phenomenon propels even them to join in. The content’s reach amplifies because of its bandwagon effect – people join in because everybody else is.

Basically, the psychology of virality hinges on getting the core human cravings for emotional connection, novelty, and social belonging. The content with the highest potential for spreading and popularity will have the tendency to be content that has some appeal to these psychological factors. People share because emotional resonance (allowing them to feel understood) makes them want to, novelty (capturing curiosity and inspiring exploration) and FOMO (social pressure to follow what’s popular) compel them to. Together these psychological factors form the perfect storm for viral digital world success.

Maher Asaad Baker
ماهر أسعد بكر
https://maher.solav.me

It was a simple yet profound question posed by my Arabic teacher: That is exactly what I did on one particular day: I sat there, heaving my chin on the palm of my right hand and wondering, “Who am I?” It was not that I did not understand myself; here was the problem, side of “me” to show. I now understand that I am inconsistent in how I am, with different people. It took me a long time to realize that the best version of ‘me’ is the one that comes out when nobody is watching, or when they are, and can see what I’m doing.

Aren’t all of us different when no one is around to perceive it? Remove the eyes of society from one’s back, from following the role one portrays, how he or she speaks, the facial or bodily language, or the clothes worn and the world instantly transforms in a moment. This is our life, we stand and we joke heartlessly, wake up in the shower and belt up a song, dance like no one’s watching. These wonderful, but rather peculiar aspects of our characters come out only when we are alone.

However, maybe there is more to this loneliness, there is something greater than that which is difficult to put into words.

• The theme of the conflict of the dual nature of humans is one of the most prominent themes found in literature.

Thus, when it comes to the concept of personalities then it would not be wrong to relate it to the fact that every human personality has a dark side that consists of a set of feelings. But when there is no audience it is like meaning that all the other latent characteristics that may not be so noble may be displayed. We can have selfish attitude of even hatred towards the opponent. In them such feelings are discussed as the ban and the unspeakable.

But there is also source of gentleness in us as well if one is to consider the notable lessons of Partridge in Perfection. Unconsciously we may avoid a beggar, assist a stranger to pick up money — his wallet or purse, or attempt to be the best people we can. The findings are that compassionate and integrity are the acts that are as inherent in people as much as the vices are in people.

• A Camera to Our Real Selves

Thus, we are both the sins that we carry in the dark and mistakes that we commit. We are the hugs and kisses that never happened and the cup of coffee never shared with those we care. The question remains: the working title of the movie that is ended with the quote from the Oprah Winfrey’s’ character: who are you when nobody is watching you? What do you do when the eyes of judgment are blind, and your misdeeds are left unknown to anyone?

Do you still remain your own person or do assume a persona that is not your own?

• It was in a Search of Authenticity

They make us look at ourselves in a way that provokes the understanding of one’s identity. On one hand it dares that one should be a ‘good’ person all the time, smiling and carrying on as if there were nobody around to watch, yet on the other hand it also reminds that one must also strive to be the ‘bad’ person as well, doing wrong deeds as if there were people to see. Indeed, it’s often said the true nature of a man comes out when he thinks no one is watching.

Fuad Al-Qrize ( AR: فؤاد الكريزي )

Previously Published on Medium

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Sylvie Claire / August 14, 2024