The phenomenon often called ‘mass psychogenic sickness’ (MPI) – wherein a bunch of individuals begins feeling sick with comparable signs within the absence of a transparent bodily cause – is nothing new. Certainly, the historic file dates again to medieval Europe – together with one infamous case wherein nuns had been reported to be meowing in unison like cats. In Believing Is Seeing, Robert Bartholomew, a sociologist on the College of Auckland, argues that our exceedingly interconnected world of social media is simply as conducive for social panics as secluded medieval convents as soon as had been. Specializing in a pattern wherein tic issues appear to unfold through TikTok movies, Bartholomew breaks down why this ‘placebo impact in reverse’ can nonetheless trigger real sickness, in addition to why he believes that social media ought to include extra guardrails. Believing Is Seeing is a part of the 2022 quick movie assortment from the New Zealand filmmaking initiative Loading Docs.
