Pandemic Times and Humor
Edition #10: Society in the Planet of the Apps
Due to the rising threat from a virus that I would not like to name, we are now officially in pandemic times. Along with it has arrived terms like ‘social distancing’, which in normal times would be considered a bug and less of a feature in societies. This was particularly true of my recent participation in the wedding celebrations of a dear friend. Most people hugged and shook hands while a few attempted social distancing rather weakly. It was serious stuff but the awkwardness of these interactions was funny since we are all learning social etiquettes all over again!
I am sure you are staying updated on the situation and leaning on legitimate sources of information and following basic precautious. There are many viewpoints and theories going around, from some calling it the quarantine of consumerism and others offering more grounded reports on how China is mitigating the risk, and the rest of the world should take notice. What struck me the most this time around is how widely it is being discussed and debated.
The difference between SARS in 2002, the last big outbreak, and now is that we have social media.
We have memes, virality and all things not bothered by the virus. We live in the planet of the apps.
This is good and bad. We can reach more people with more specific information while we are also susceptible to sharing misinformation and alarmist news that conforms to our world view. The WHO joined the social media platform TikTok and is struggling to fight misinformation and dark humor. Beat that, risk communication!
Humor is an interesting facet of human beings and our society. We are naturally driven towards content that is funny.
What defines funny?
Dr Peter McGraw, director of the Humor Research Lab at University of Colorado has a theory for it – Benign Violation Theory.
He says ‘funny’ occurs under three dependent conditions –
1) a situation is a violation,
2) the situation is benign
3) both perceptions occur simultaneously.
According to the theory, a violation refers to anything that threatens one’s beliefs about how the world should be. That is, something seems threatening, unsettling, or wrong. Like making jokes on the current situation where people are suffering and potentially has an impact on their health, jobs, families, and broadly, the future of all of us.
The likelihood of getting offended now is higher since our violation zone has shrunk making some forms of humor less acceptable.
It is also likely that with work-from-home and self-quarantined scenarios, and less group gatherings, we are likely to spend more time in digital interactions.
Try not to get offended too much, too often. After all, all humor may not be applicable to all ages.
The science of humor is a serious thing so take it easy the next time you receive a dark meme. It is not meant for you, after all.
