A psychological theory I found interesting [View all]
I read years ago that the reason why soap operas were once very popular with college students was because many were away from home for the first time and among people they didn't know quite well yet. So their favorite characters on soaps gave them a sense of familiarity and that provided comfort.
I think that makes sense. Whenever there was bad news I would turn to the local news station my parents always watched whose anchors & reporters stayed for years. The news while still bad, seemed easier to cope with coming from long term familar trusted people.
Those anchors have pretty much all retired and I haven't watched soaps since they canceled All My Children. Oddly though I find myself addicted to watching the Food Network a lot now even though I don't cook much myself. My sister has always loved it and I started to notice how a main core group of chefs love to tease each other in a good natured way, and always manage to make me laugh for a bit, no matter what anxiety the "real world," is causing me.
Does anyone else agree with this theory?
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