Neue Forschungsergebnisse deuten darauf hin, dass Trypophobie, die häufig als Angst vor Ansammlungen kleiner Löcher beschrieben wird, möglicherweise nicht nur eine virale Internetsensation ist, sondern vielmehr eine echte psychische Erkrankung. | Den Ergebnissen zufolge ist etwa jeder Zehnte betroffen.
New psychology research suggests trypophobia is not just a social media phenomenon
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From the article: Trypophobia, which triggers feelings of disgust, discomfort, or anxiety at the sight of hole clusters, has been a topic of scientific inquiry with nearly fifty studies delving into its nature.
However, the condition has also garnered online attention such as through images of lotus seed pods, honeycomb or aerated chocolate, leading many to speculate that it is a phenomenon driven by social media.
Curiosity about trypophobia’s prevalence led researchers to consider the role of social learning in its development. Social learning theory suggests that we learn new behaviors by observing and imitating others. The [research team](https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/17470218241232665), led by Geoff G. Cole from the University of Essex, questioned whether exposure to trypophobic images on platforms like Facebook or Instagram could heighten sensitivity to the condition.
The team conducted two experiments. The first surveyed over 2,558 individuals using the Trypophobia Questionnaire to see if age and gender were linked to trypophobia, as younger people and females tend to have higher engagement with social media. The second recruited 283 individuals and focused on whether prior knowledge of the condition made an individual more sensitive to trypophobic stimuli, relative to those who have not heard of the condition.
Findings revealed that younger people and women are more likely to experience higher sensitivity to trypophobic discomfort as indicated by higher scores on the Trypophobia Questionnaire, and that trypophobic sensitivity systematically decreases with age, suggesting that social media use plays a role in contributing to this phenomenon.
Hell yeah it’s not fake. I remember feeling it long before the internet existed.
I’m not “afraid” of clusters of small holes. I just don’t like them.
I feel like this is related to botflies somehow. And if you have this phobia, DO NOT Google that.
correlate with fear of parasites.
Luckily there is treatment available.
This phobia has become a trend. People really love throw around trendy phobias and mental illness to look cool.
There has to be something deep down evolutionary speaking about it to have it be so common.
Probably goes back to our ancient development in the ocean.
„Don’t go in there! Only bad things happen in those holey places.“
never knew this was considered a viral internet thing. I always figured that it looks like hives and things that bugs use and bugs are gross
Its not necessarily holes for me, its organic clusters. How do things that seemingly have no intelligence organize so chaotically but also somewhat controlled? If they were a perfect grid its not a problem, but they tried, and the best they got was semi organized, and its gross. Like, do better little organisms.
Pictures of barnacles on hulls, those arent holes, they arent big brained animals, but they collect and organize, and cluster up. Gross.
I’ve honestly never heard of trypophobia outside of Reddit.
I knew someone 12 years ago that would feel nauseous at the sight. First time I saw someone like that.
I definitely have a reaction and I hate seeing those clusters of holes. I feel gross just thinking about it.
My face itches reading this thread