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 ... (news.osu.edu)
from L4s@lemmy.world to technology@lemmy.world on 01 Oct 2023 06:00
https://lemmy.world/post/6081849

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…

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Sir_Simon_Spamalot@lemmy.world on 01 Oct 2023 08:33 next collapse

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

Squizzy@lemmy.world on 01 Oct 2023 09:08 next collapse

Not the last four Seasons, people were invincible.

Siegfried@lemmy.world on 02 Oct 2023 23:43 collapse

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

LazaroFilm@lemmy.world on 01 Oct 2023 11:12 next collapse

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

XTornado@lemmy.ml on 01 Oct 2023 11:23 next collapse

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.

elbarto777@lemmy.world on 01 Oct 2023 12:24 next collapse

Like Lilith?

SplashingCobalt@lemmy.ml on 03 Oct 2023 11:37 collapse

Yeah, that’s the stuff. Give it here?

GamingChairModel@lemmy.world on 01 Oct 2023 23:40 collapse

Bruh people straight up named their daughters “Khaleesi”

LazaroFilm@lemmy.world on 02 Oct 2023 00:41 collapse

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

highsight@programming.dev on 01 Oct 2023 11:48 collapse

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

errer@lemmy.world on 01 Oct 2023 11:25 next collapse

“My best friend, Ramsey Snow…”

kemsat@lemmy.world on 01 Oct 2023 13:15 next collapse

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

some_guy@lemmy.sdf.org on 01 Oct 2023 13:41 collapse

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

obinice@lemmy.world on 01 Oct 2023 14:01 collapse

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!

kandoh@reddthat.com on 01 Oct 2023 14:44 next collapse

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.

vector_zero@lemmy.world on 01 Oct 2023 22:44 collapse

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?

m3t00@lemmy.world on 01 Oct 2023 15:20 next collapse

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

sundrei@lemmy.sdf.org on 03 Oct 2023 01:12 collapse

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.

scarabic@lemmy.world on 01 Oct 2023 16:01 next collapse

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.

scarabic@lemmy.world on 01 Oct 2023 16:03 next collapse

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.

calypsopub@lemmy.world on 01 Oct 2023 17:17 collapse

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.

toroknos_07@sh.itjust.works on 02 Oct 2023 00:00 next collapse

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

[deleted] on 02 Oct 2023 00:30 collapse

.

CommunityLinkFixer@lemmings.world on 02 Oct 2023 00:33 next collapse

Hi there! Looks like you linked to a Lemmy community using a URL instead of its name, which doesn’t work well for people on different instances. Try fixing it like this: !plural@lemm.ee

overcast5348@lemmy.world on 02 Oct 2023 01:42 next collapse

I can’t tell of that community is a joke or a mental health issue.

scottywh@lemmy.world on 02 Oct 2023 01:45 collapse

It doesn’t look like a joke to me…

<img alt="" src="https://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/e60e4d1c-e69f-4873-8ec6-d484f7472d4a.png">

toroknos_07@sh.itjust.works on 02 Oct 2023 23:29 collapse

thanks for link

postmateDumbass@lemmy.world on 02 Oct 2023 01:24 collapse

I’d look at online gaming.

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