When some people look at clusters of small holes, such as those in a lotus seed pod or honeycomb, they suddenly and inexplicably fill with an unpleasant, skin-crawling sensation. feeling.
It turns out that the Internet can fuel this unofficial phobia. A series of experiments have now shown that online discussions about ‘trypophobia’ – or the fear of small holes – may be partly driving this common phenomenon.
In a study of 283 people aged 19 to 22, a team of psychologists from the University of Essex and the University of Suffolk found that a quarter of trypophobic people had never heard of the condition.There really is an aspect of the condition that is congenital.
But that doesn’t mean there isn’t peer influence.
The team too found that survey respondents were likely to be trypophobic and more prone to small holes if they had previously heard of the condition.
As many as 64 percent said they discovered the phenomenon on the internet or social media.
“Overall, these results suggest that while the widespread presence of trypophobia on the Internet may have contributed to the social learning aspect of the phenomenon, this cannot be the only explanation,” the researchers write..
This isn’t too surprising, the team adds. After all, social learning is a well-known part of other phobias, such as those of snakes or spiders, “where a person is exposed to society’s representation and view of certain objects and/or becomes aware of the disgust experienced by a family member.”
But recent findings suggest that common trypophobia may be influenced, at least in part, by its high presence on the Internet.
Trypophobia is not yet a medically recognized condition. It was first described in the scientific literature by two psychologists from the University of Essex in 2013, one of whom is also an author of the new paper. However, the name for the phenomenon appears to have originated in online discussions eight years earlier.
Since that first official article, hundreds of news articles have been written on the subject, and visual memes now litter the Internet.
Today, however, scientists are still torn whether or not trypophobia is a real condition, or whether it is”a fear exacerbated by the internet“, as some have speculated. They don’t even agree on how many people it affects.
In 2013, scientists expected 15 percent of people, but in 2023 a large study among young people in China, it was found that trypophobia probably affects 17.6 percent of people.
Psychologist Geoff Cole, who wrote the first paper in 2013, has now led a new series of experiments at the University of Essex to better understand the condition. In contrast to their previous research, Cole and his team found that trypophobia affects about 10 percent of people.
While it is true that a negative experience with an event or object can trigger a phobia, it is unlikely that people with trypophobia have ever actually been threatened by a group of small holes.
Instead, scientists have done just that suggested the fear or feeling of disgust is an evolutionary remnant. It makes us feel uneasy because the pattern resembles parasitic pests, infectious diseases or decomposition – all of which can threaten human health.
“An alternative Internet-driven account of trypophobia is that a person who was previously unaware of the condition may find themselves sensitive to gaps and then seek out information via the Internet,” the researchers describe.
“The Internet then confirms what someone previously suspected.”
This doesn’t mean that social media itself causes trypophobia, but it does suggest that online content makes people aware of feelings that may already exist. This in turn could potentially make them worse.
Different past psychology studies have found that trypophobic images cause discomfort in even 4- and 5-year-olds, even before children have had time to become familiar with the Internet.
“Overall,” Essex researchers conclude, “these data suggest that both social learning and non-social learning contribute to trypophobia.”
The research was published in the Quarterly journal for experimental.