Most social trends aren’t what they seem

sciart0
Jul 31
1 min read

Our minds crave simple, linear narratives. But society rarely follows a straight line.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

From the “crisis of democracy” to the “loneliness epidemic,” many social trends are based on questionable data.
So why do they have so much staying power in our minds and in popular discussion?
Social psychologist Adam Waytz argues that the answer largely centers on pareidolia, our “tendency to impose a meaningful interpretation on a nebulous stimulus.”

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