Latest news with #JonahBerger
Time Business News
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Time Business News
The Dark Psychology Behind Viral Trends and Social Media Risks
Introduction Going viral is widely seen as a jackpot—mass recognition, soaring engagement, and fast visibility. But behind the sparkle lies a complex psychological maze. For your business news platform, this post explores how trending content can trigger harmful behaviours, mislead audiences, and create mental health risks. As author and psychologist Sherry Turkle once noted: 'Technology doesn't just change what we do; it changes who we are.' This post explores how viral trends can trigger harmful behaviours, mislead audiences, and create lasting consequences. Emotion fuels sharing. Content that evokes strong reactions—joy, surprise, anger, even anxiety—gets passed on rapidly Simultaneously, when 'everyone else is doing it,' social proof kicks in, pushing more people to join trends without thinking Emotion fuels sharing. Jonah Berger, author of Contagious: Why Things Catch On , explains: 'When we care, we share.' This makes content spread fast, but it also encourages herd behaviour. The bandwagon effect leads people to join in—even when a trend is unhealthy. While powerful, this duo also encourages herd behaviour. People may conform to harmful trends just to fit in. The need for fresh, trending content—driven by novelty and the fear of missing out—adds emotional friction and stress PopsugarWikipedia. As trends evolve faster, users face 'trend fatigue,' constantly chasing what's next but never catching peace. Smartphone addiction. Young tired female looking at her mobile phone screen, lying in bed late at night, scrolling her social media news feed What starts as fun can end in danger. Harmful social media challenges have caused physical injuries—even death. The Tide Pod Challenge is a notorious example Alpha Plus Digital Marketing, and recent TikTok challenges like the Blackout Challenge have seen emergency room visits and worse TIME. For content creators and consumers alike, the stakes are high. A 2023 study reports that one in three influencers experiences severe burnout—from panic attacks to anxiety over algorithm changes Knowledgepedia. In a 2023 interview, a creator with millions of followers confessed: 'The algorithm owns me. If I don't post, I disappear.' At the same time, viral fame can distort mental well-being. Trends like 'crashing out' showcase emotional breakdowns as performative spectacle, glamorising vulnerability and hindering genuine coping strategies Vox. Longer-term, exposure to filtered ideals can breed insecurity—think 'Snapchat Dysmorphia' Wikipedia. Virality doesn't differentiate between facts and falsehoods. Emotionally charged misinformation—especially anger-laden fake news—spreads faster than reasoned content arXiv. Simultaneously, the race for likes can lead to online harassment, deepfakes, and exploitation—a darker underbelly of social media culture A recent report warns about wedding cake smashing gone wrong. Originally meant as fun, some acts have escalated into humiliating or aggressive behaviour—triggering public outrage and even divorce—highlighting how social-media amplified 'jokes' can ignore consent and become emotionally damaging 'When humour crosses the line into humiliation, it's no longer entertainment — it's abuse.' Dr. Justin Lehmiller Psychological Force Positive Use Dark Consequences Emotional Trigger Promotes connection and humor Sparks panic, anxiety, or dangerous participation Social Proof & Bandwagon Drives collaboration Encourages conformity to harmful trends FOMO & Novelty Craving Fuels creativity and innovation Leads to exhaustion and trend fatigue Misinformation Spread Amplifies awareness when accurate Spreads fake news, harassment, manipulation Influencer Pressure Enables voice and influence Results in burnout, identity loss, mental strain The word viral has become synonymous with success, but as we've seen, not all trends bring value. While virality can amplify voices, spark movements, and even entertain, it also carries risks: spreading misinformation, fuelling herd mentality, encouraging harmful challenges, and driving creators into burnout. 'We become what we behold. We shape our tools and thereafter our tools shape us.' Neil Postman The dark psychology of trends reminds us that humans are wired for connection, validation, and novelty — but when these impulses are manipulated at scale, the consequences can be dangerous. For businesses, media outlets, and individuals, the challenge is to move beyond the glitter of virality and instead prioritise sustainable engagement, authenticity, and responsible storytelling. Ultimately, the next time a video, hashtag, or meme floods your feed, it's worth asking: Am I sharing this because it's meaningful — or just because it's viral? TIME BUSINESS NEWS
CNBC
06-08-2025
- Business
- CNBC
Wharton word guru on 3 simple language fixes that can turn failure to communicate into success
Wharton School marketing professor Jonah Berger has advised Google, Nike, Apple and Coca-Cola, among other major firms, on how small language choices can be the difference between failure and success with customers and partners. The same is true for any individual, he says, whether it be at work, in business, or when seeking to influence those who surround us in personal life. "We all use language all the time, when writing emails, making presentations, talking to clients and team members," Berger said at CNBC's Small Business Playbook virtual event on Wednesday. "We think a lot about ideas we want to communicate, but we think a lot less about specific words we use when we communicate, and unfortunately, that's a mistake," he said in an interview with CNBC's Kate Rogers at the small business event. "Small shifts in language we use can have a big impact," he said. In fact, according to Berger, adding one word to a request — recommend, as in "I recommend" — can make the listener about 50% more likely to say yes. Berger's research, covered in his book "Magic Words," shows that language choices can be make-or-break when it comes to everything from office conversations to applying for loans, but we are often under-prepared to choose the right words to get what we want. Berger, along with a larger team, has analyzed the language of customer calls, sales pitches, and tens of thousands of written content pieces to analyze how to increase the odds of success. "At core, what we find is that it is not random, it's not luck, not chance. There is a science of how language works, whether trying to get a colleague on board or a client to say 'yes' or someone in our personal life to agree or support what we are going after," he said. Berger provided three examples of how to make small changes in the words we use to get the results we want with the "Small Business Playbook" audience. One easy change to make is based on research conducted years ago among pre-school children, which Berger says applies equally to adults. Researchers wanted to know how to increase influence over others and get others to support initiatives, and used classroom cleanup duties as the laboratory. What they found was that when children were asked to "help" rather than to be "helpers," they were less likely to willingly follow through on the task. That "infinitesimal difference in letters," according to Berger, just adding the "er" to the end of the word, made one-third of children more likely to say yes. That research was later corroborated among adults who were either asked to "vote" or be a "voter." "A small one-letter difference," according to Berger, "led to a 12% increase in willingness to turn out." He explained that what the research reveals is that people are more likely to respond to an identity they desire to be known for rather than an action they are asked to take. "We all know we should take certain actions ... but we are busy. What we care a lot more about is holding desired identities. We all want to see ourselves as smart, engaged citizens," he said. When actions become a way to claim a desired identity, through a shift from action language to identity language, we are more likely to follow through, he said. While doing work for a large consumer electronics firm analyzing social media language and what got attention in a world where competition for attention is intense across cold calls, emails and social, Berger says research showed that use of "you, you'll, your" — all the second-person pronouns — can make a big difference. "It acts like a stop sign," he said. "Imagine reading the headline of an email '5 tips to save money,' but if it says '5 tips to save money,' you pay more attention," he said. It doesn't matter whether you are trying to reach one person or many, he said. "It acts like a stop sign to dial in and pay attention and it gets more engagement," he added. Berger said there is one important caveat. In some situations, the use of the second-person pronouns can become accusatory and work against the intended goal. Personal life is one example, he said. "Did you make dinner? Did you walk the dog?" In Berger's analysis, this is not the way to frame such questions, as they will lead the person being asked to think (if not also say) "Why is it my job?" And there is a parallel in the office world, the difference between "Did you do that report?" and "Did that report get taken care of?" "You can suggest blame in ways you don't intend," he said. "You need to be careful of accusatory use of it." Berger said it also doesn't work in the context of customer support pages. "Yes, 'you' is good at getting attention, but for the customer support page, where you already have given your attention, the benefit is not there," he said. In fact, Berger says that this is one more use case that can lead people to think they are being blamed. Research on the way financial advisors discuss investments with clients found that the more certain an advisor is in the language they use, the more likely a client is to take their recommendations and stay in business with them. An advisor who is 95% sure a stock will go up is preferred to an advisor who is 65% sure, even if both are proven correct with their recommendations in the end. This may seem obvious: more certain language, words that clearly suggest something particular will happen, are what others want to hear. But according to Berger, the issue is that this approach is in direct contrast to how most of us speak. When we inevitably use "probably" and "potentially," we undermine our impact on listeners, Berger said. "Ditch the hedges," he said. "We hedge because it's convenient, filling conversational space. What we need to do is pause instead. Pausing can be beneficial. It shows people we are thinking about what they might have asked," he added. "People talk about being overconfident, but there is also the danger of being under-confident." Berger says it can be instructive, if painful, to record yourself and listen to how often you hedge, and also how often you use filler words like "err" and "like." "I've done it before with myself and it's cringeworthy," Berger said, but he added it is important to understand the difference between a practiced pause that shows you are paying attention and thinking, and a filler word that leads a listener to doubt your certainty and knowledge. This doesn't mean it's never a good idea to communicate uncertainty. As in the financial advisor example, there are times when a range of variables exists that could influence outcomes. But Berger said there are good ways to say "Hey, I am not sure." "I think this is a great course of action, but for this to work, these three things need to happen. I'm confident, but I can't predict the future." Or as Berger put it, "Be clear about where the uncertainty is and where it isn't."
CNBC
06-08-2025
- Business
- CNBC
Wharton's Jonan Berger on the tiny language fix that can lead others to do what you ask of them
Wharton marketing professor Jonah Berger shares his research on the simple word choices and language changes we can make in everyday interactions that can turn failure into success at CNBC's 'Small Business Playbook.'
