A recent article in American Scientist discusses our tendency to choose a real object over a textual or digital representation of one when shopping, even if we have to pay more for the object in front of us. I suspect that this tendency has decreased significantly in the last ten years or so, but its continued presence is interesting to ponder. The article suggests that being able to "grab" the item increases its desireability in our brains, and that items (such as food) behind glass, even if instantly available, become no longer more desireable than a picture of them on the computer. Certainly there are many neurological factors at work here, but the study points to our suspicion of the two-dimensional representation. It seems we are hard-wired to not believe everything we see, and touching and tasting what's in front of us verifies its authenticity.I wonder to what extent this phenomenon extends to people. More and more people are finding dates online, but a large group of the population still considers online dating unnatural, suspect, or even dangerous. Meeting my date in person will (probably) tell me no better that he or she is dangerous (or intelligent or attractive) than would his or her picture and "profile" online, but I would not consider a date or relationship "real" until I met the person. I also wonder whether we are willing to choose less attractive people to date if they are in front of us (much like the students who spent 50% more for physical items than for their online counterparts). It seems to me that we would forgive many more foibles (like grammar errors and bad haircuts, say) in a live, 3-D person than in an online representation of one. We want as much information as possible before making decisions, and we still believe that the real thing simply gives us more than its two-dimensional representation.
2 comments:
ReplyDeleteI think we partly like the physical grabbing the item because we like instant gratification. There is something completely satisfying about having something right away for our enjoyment. I think there is truth to retail therapy. I say this because last week I went out and bought a mac and have been on an apple high since.
Second, this morning I was watching Rachael Ray and they had a segment on the science of dating profiles. And, surprisingly our brain doesn't just judge whether the person is attractive and subconsciously we aren't as shallow as we might think. People actually chose pictures based on how interesting the person appears. SO if it's just a glamor shot, then people weren't impressed, but liked pictures that showed hobbies and spoke to who the person was. And, thought I think the real thing is always better. I think that computers offer a shield, an important protection that gives people confidence. I researched online for computers and then went and bought the real thing for my instant satisfaction.
Yes, I agree about the instant gratification, though the study showed that even if instantly available, people were less likely to want things behind glass than things physically in front of them. It looks like the mall won't go away any time soon!
ReplyDeleteAs far as dating profiles go, I'm sure that what you said is true, but I wonder whether, all else being equal, people would be kinder in person, overlooking flaws (not just physical ones) that they might not overlook in an online profile. It seems that no matter how complete, an online representation is much less thorough than an in-the-flesh person, and therefore we may have less to judge online and might judge more harshly.