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Mini: Watching Zits Pop · Why We Do What We Do

• 0:03
  Speaker 1: You're listening to Why we do what we do. Welcome
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: to Why we do what we do. I am your host, Abraham,
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: and I'm your Shanan. We are a science psychology podcast.
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: I usually just say psychology podcast, but we're both of
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: those things. Maybe we are science and psychology or scientific psychology,
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: I don't know, whatever it is. We like to talk
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: about all of the things that humans and animals do.
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: And I know humans are animals, but humans and non
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: human animals, I guess. And we release these short form
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: episodes that we call minis. And that's a mini that
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  Speaker 1: we are doing today.
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  Speaker 2: And we are going to talk about something that is
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  Speaker 2: equal parts fascinating and disgusting, and that is popping zips.
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  Speaker 1: So I recommend getting your gag reefe ready. We are
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: about to talk about human goo and human goo extruding
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  Speaker 1: from people's pores. Basically, it's so gross.
• 1:09
  Speaker 2: Do you like watching pimple popping videos?
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  Speaker 1: I was just gonna ask you this, No, not particularly so.
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  Speaker 1: I have seen a couple, and I guess there is
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  Speaker 1: a level of novelty to it that I can sort
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  Speaker 1: of understand, but I do not seek this out. That
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  Speaker 1: being said, there are kind of similar videos that I've
• 1:29
  Speaker 1: seen of people like cleaning something that's like horrifically disgustingly
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  Speaker 1: filthy and like returning it to just pristine levels of cleanliness.
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  Speaker 1: That's really fun and enjoyable to watch sometimes.
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  Speaker 2: Oh so you're into signs of repair.
• 1:44
  Speaker 1: There you go, Yeah, that is it. I think that
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  Speaker 1: I do enjoy. There's some satisfaction out of like watching
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  Speaker 1: a thing be restored.
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  Speaker 2: I don't like zip popping, but one thing I get
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  Speaker 2: a sick fascination out of is like when skin like
• 2:00
  Speaker 2: from a sunburn that I'm all in for. I'm like,
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  Speaker 2: I will I And maybe that's because I grew up
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  Speaker 2: in a space where I got sunburn all the time,
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  Speaker 2: so I would just like have to peel my rectilian
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  Speaker 2: skin off. But like I right like one into that
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  Speaker 2: like that rules.
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  Speaker 1: Oh wild, I bet there's some overlap here, but all right,
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  Speaker 1: well let's let's keep unpacking this here. Yeah, for those
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  Speaker 1: of you who are unaware, blissfully or not, there are
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  Speaker 1: some videos that you can find on YouTube and probably
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  Speaker 1: lots of other social media or video platforms of people
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  Speaker 1: who essentially are applying pressure to skin where there are
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  Speaker 1: black heads, white heads, pimples, or cysts to empty. Those
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  Speaker 1: they're not really alesions, protuberances, those things on our skin,
• 2:44
  Speaker 1: holes under our skin. Yeah, the hole is the holes.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah. And now in these videos, someone punctures or squeezes
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  Speaker 2: the surrounding tissue of the skin, and eventually this ruptures
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  Speaker 2: the offending area and out spills or eject some viscous
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  Speaker 2: or sometimes hard substances from the skin. There's a wide
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  Speaker 2: variety of things that come out of humans.
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  Speaker 1: True, these videos have racked up tens of millions of
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  Speaker 1: views in some instances, so clearly there is an audience
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  Speaker 1: for this.
• 3:14
  Speaker 2: Yeah, so why do some of us love to watch
• 3:17
  Speaker 2: pus exploding from skin? Let's answer that question. I think
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  Speaker 2: we've got a lot to say about it.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, and we sort of weighed in our own selves here.
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  Speaker 2: Now.
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  Speaker 1: I did find this twenty twenty one study by Wagenegger
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  Speaker 1: I think is how you pronounced that and colleagues in
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  Speaker 1: the science journal Behavioral Brain Research, and they asked women
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  Speaker 1: to view videos of pimples being popped, a water fountain
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  Speaker 1: or steam cleaning videos while they were in an MRI
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  Speaker 1: machine at fMRI, which we've talked about in the past,
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  Speaker 1: but it does scans of where blood is actively the
• 3:54
  Speaker 1: most as occurring the most in the.
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  Speaker 2: Brain, right, and now women were organizing the groups of
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  Speaker 2: self reportedly enjoying and women who reportedly did not enjoy
• 4:03
  Speaker 2: this type of video or this type of content.
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  Speaker 1: But the fMRI found that women in a group who
• 4:09
  Speaker 1: reported enjoying pimple popping had increased brain activity in the
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  Speaker 1: front door polar coretex of the brain. And for those
• 4:16
  Speaker 1: of you who are not up on your brain mapping stuff,
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  Speaker 1: this area is believed to be associated with coding action
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  Speaker 1: and tensions and predicting outcomes of physical or motor actions.
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  Speaker 2: Interesting, so perhaps this is anagolys wit to conflict and
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  Speaker 2: resolution and storytelling. There's a sense of relief and comfort
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  Speaker 2: when tension is resolved by removing the source of tension.
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  Speaker 2: And if you really think about pimple popping videos, isn't
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  Speaker 2: that what it is. There's a source of tension and
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  Speaker 2: then there is relief when the tension is released.
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  Speaker 1: Not unlike listening to and then finishing an ad. Okay,
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  Speaker 1: so we're talking about these women who did prefer watching
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  Speaker 1: pimple popping in this MRI, but they obviously there was
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  Speaker 1: the other group of women who reportedly did not, And
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  Speaker 1: so the women who did not prefer pimple popping had
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  Speaker 1: less activity in their nucleus accumbens, which is believed to
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  Speaker 1: be associated with experiencing pleasure and avoiding non pleasurable events.
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  Speaker 1: And so it has been observed that suppression of activity
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  Speaker 1: in this region of the brain is associated with reports
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  Speaker 1: of feelings of disgust. And so essentially what they're saying
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  Speaker 1: is decrease activity in the nucleus accumbens could be interpreted
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  Speaker 1: as disgust.
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  Speaker 2: Right, So, of these two groups, it sounds like the
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  Speaker 2: group that liked it liked it because there was tension
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  Speaker 2: and release, where the group that didn't like it they
• 5:48
  Speaker 2: didn't like it because it was just gross. Like that's
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  Speaker 2: kind of like a simplification of what it sounds like
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  Speaker 2: they found, but it's more complicated than.
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  Speaker 1: That, well kinda Yeah. Essentially, the researchers suggest that some
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  Speaker 1: people feel discussed at popping zits and others.
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  Speaker 2: Do not, Right, which brilliant outcome.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, I feel like that's they told you that coming in.
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  Speaker 1: That's how you sort of them into groups. But they
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  Speaker 1: go on to suggest that possibly it's because disgust is
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  Speaker 1: evolutionarily associated with noxious flavors and toxicity, whereas in these
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  Speaker 1: videos there's really no opportunity for noxiousness or toxicity because
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  Speaker 1: you're not actually ingesting anything like historically speaking, like why
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  Speaker 1: we would feel discussed is that would prevent us from
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  Speaker 1: consuming or touching things that would get us sick. And
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  Speaker 1: we're watching a video, we can compartmentalize that this is
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  Speaker 1: not a thing we're touching or ingesting. So it's like
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  Speaker 1: a safe way you can approach it without fear. But
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  Speaker 1: I think what they were arguing is some people do
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  Speaker 1: not separate the image of a thing and the reality
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  Speaker 1: of the thing in the same way. They sort of
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  Speaker 1: treat them as being pretty similar.
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  Speaker 2: Sure. Yeah. Now they further speculate that people who enjoy
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  Speaker 2: this get a sense of satisfaction from curiosity or even
• 7:00
  Speaker 2: morbid curiosity. The desire to know about something that is
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  Speaker 2: tantalizingly taboo, visceral, or private comes from watching these videos. Right,
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  Speaker 2: So there's like, for example, there's a speculation that people
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  Speaker 2: get a dopamine rush when they watch these. Said another way,
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  Speaker 2: they enjoy it because they enjoy it.
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  Speaker 1: Yes, Others offer that it gives the viewer a sense
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  Speaker 1: of control. It's like someone taking control of a situation
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  Speaker 1: where things are sort of unpleasant, and as I mentioned before,
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  Speaker 1: that this is a safe way to experience disgust without
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  Speaker 1: having to viscerally physically endure disgust yourself.
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  Speaker 2: Right, there's also maybe some arguments about medical body satisfaction
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  Speaker 2: and fascination. People are just interested in anatomy and stuff
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  Speaker 2: like that, so they watch these and it's just like
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  Speaker 2: one single portion of the larger scope of anatomy and
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  Speaker 2: medical information. And some people just like ASMR stuff, like
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  Speaker 2: they just like the sounds of things, and like just
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  Speaker 2: videos that don't have like a lot of instruction or
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  Speaker 2: educational value. You're just kind of watching it and enjoying
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  Speaker 2: it and listening to it for the sounds.
• 8:01
  Speaker 1: Yeah, it's just the stimulation of the activity as all
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  Speaker 1: they're looking for. Okay, So that's kind of what the
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  Speaker 1: research has said. I think for our part, it's reasonable
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  Speaker 1: to assume that, like most things, there could be multiple
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  Speaker 1: reasons why people may or may not seek out pimple popping,
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  Speaker 1: and they may enjoy it or they may hate it.
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  Speaker 2: Right, the novelty of the spectacle certainly could be a
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  Speaker 2: reason for some people to watch it, and then they
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  Speaker 2: are satisfied and they move on and it doesn't really
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  Speaker 2: become a habit. Some people don't watch a lot of it.
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  Speaker 2: I mean, unless it becomes like the core of your algorithm,
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  Speaker 2: and that's a whole different issue. True, but they'll watch
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  Speaker 2: a couple videos and they maybe move on.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, it's sort of like, oh, this is kind of
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  Speaker 1: a weird thing I haven't spent any time on. And
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  Speaker 1: then they do, and then they're kind of like, eh,
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  Speaker 1: I think of my curiosity is good now, right. Another
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  Speaker 1: thing to consider is that perhaps for some the satisfaction
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  Speaker 1: comes from a sense of completion, and that can be
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  Speaker 1: really satisfying for people. These videos show a resolution from
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  Speaker 1: a problem to a solution in a way that is tidy,
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  Speaker 1: it's efficient, it's final. It's sort of like, here's a problem,
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  Speaker 1: here's a solution. Things are restored. As I sort of mentioned, like,
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  Speaker 1: there is that sense of like of restoration of completion,
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  Speaker 1: and it's quick, it's tidy, it's neat. It sort of
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  Speaker 1: was just like boom problem, boom fixed.
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  Speaker 2: Right. And for some there is a sense of cleanliness
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  Speaker 2: or hygiene that is satisfied by seeing something dirty or
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  Speaker 2: infected being purged and returned to homeostasis. It might be
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  Speaker 2: akin to the satisfaction that can come from fixing something
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  Speaker 2: broken or cleaning up a mess. Yeah.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, as we talked about at the beginning, Now, some
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  Speaker 1: people might enjoy the social component of sharing sort of
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  Speaker 1: this quirky activity of watching these videos with friends and
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  Speaker 1: the reactions that they have with one another. So it
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  Speaker 1: might be that there's an element of social dynamic that
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  Speaker 1: comes from just engaging with this video with multiple people.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, yeah, uh huh. I could see that. However
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  Speaker 2: it comes about or it's maintained, there is an element
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  Speaker 2: of finality the people seem to seek out in these
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  Speaker 2: video when there's an offending skin issue that's drained. Not
• 10:03
  Speaker 2: just squeezing or the lancing, not that part, but the
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  Speaker 2: emptying of the contents is the rewarding part. The watching
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  Speaker 2: a task from beginning to end with that end like
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  Speaker 2: this is done, seems to be really important for people
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  Speaker 2: when they're watching these.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, it's almost like like I mentioned, as we talked
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  Speaker 1: about before, it sort of is like a story. It's
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  Speaker 1: like you get the beginning, you get your conflict, you
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  Speaker 1: get your resolution, but it just happens very quickly. Like
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  Speaker 1: there's not a whole lot of fluff around it. It
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  Speaker 1: just pans out really fast. So there could, of course
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  Speaker 1: be many other reasons that people enjoy this sort of thing,
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  Speaker 1: but those are some that we felt it was useful
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  Speaker 1: to touch on then, of course dipping into the research
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  Speaker 1: a little bit. But I think that is what we
• 10:43
  Speaker 1: have to say on why people are enjoying watching liquids
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  Speaker 1: extrude from people's pores and other skin places. Yeah, is
• 10:50
  Speaker 1: there anything you'd like to add or anything that I
• 10:53
  Speaker 1: forgot before we wrap this one up?
• 10:55
  Speaker 2: I don't think I have anything else. I don't. I'm
• 10:57
  Speaker 2: kind of my gag reflex is already like right there,
• 10:59
  Speaker 2: so I think I think I'm okay with being done.
• 11:02
  Speaker 1: Okay, great. If you would like to tell us about
• 11:04
  Speaker 1: your gagruflex or if you like to watch these videos,
• 11:07
  Speaker 1: or you don't like to watch these videos, we're happy
• 11:09
  Speaker 1: to hear from you either way. You can email us
• 11:11
  Speaker 1: directly at infowwdwwdpodcast dot com. You can reach us on
• 11:15
  Speaker 1: the social media platforms. I'm particularly active on Blue Sky
• 11:19
  Speaker 1: right now, although for me particularly active as barely, but
• 11:22
  Speaker 1: I'm there.
• 11:23
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 11:23
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• 11:26
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• 11:28
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• 11:30
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• 11:33
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• 11:36
  Speaker 1: or tell a friend thank you so much for my
• 11:38
  Speaker 1: team for helping me make this podcast continue to happen.
• 11:42
  Speaker 1: But I think that is all that I have, So
• 11:44
  Speaker 1: I guess I already asked you if you had things,
• 11:46
  Speaker 1: So I think we're good. So this is.
• 11:47
  Speaker 2: Abraham, this is Shane.
• 11:49
  Speaker 1: We're out.
• 11:50
  Speaker 2: Bye. You've been listening to Why We Do What We Do.
• 11:54
  Speaker 2: You can learn more about this and other episodes by
• 11:56
  Speaker 2: going to wwdwwdpodcast dot com. Thanks for listening, and we
• 12:02
  Speaker 2: hope you have an awesome day.