Vandalism and other trollish behaviour is the result of a disconnect between modern living circumstances and human biological imperatives. Human social structures, in common with those of other social primates like chimpanzees, are governed by the focus of the troop's attention.
The monkey that can most effectively hold the troop's attention is the alpha monkey. This was realized back in the 60's, when observed noticed that the alpha chimpanzee maintained his position long after he could be physically defeated by younger males.
This explains a lot about humans, particularly the role of celebrity, which has existed for as long as we have records.
In the case of being a jerk on the 'Net, perpetrators get the vicarious feeling of being the focus of attention because their work is up there in public for all to see. This is a nice hot jolt to one of the most fundamental monkey psycho-social reward systems, and they do not suffer any of the negative consequences that such behaviour would bring down upon them in meatspace.
Ergo, vandalism, like Paris Hilton, will always be with us, and for much the same reason.
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Date: 2007-05-23 06:28 pm (UTC)Vandalism and other trollish behaviour is the result of a disconnect between modern living circumstances and human biological imperatives. Human social structures, in common with those of other social primates like chimpanzees, are governed by the focus of the troop's attention.
The monkey that can most effectively hold the troop's attention is the alpha monkey. This was realized back in the 60's, when observed noticed that the alpha chimpanzee maintained his position long after he could be physically defeated by younger males.
This explains a lot about humans, particularly the role of celebrity, which has existed for as long as we have records.
In the case of being a jerk on the 'Net, perpetrators get the vicarious feeling of being the focus of attention because their work is up there in public for all to see. This is a nice hot jolt to one of the most fundamental monkey psycho-social reward systems, and they do not suffer any of the negative consequences that such behaviour would bring down upon them in meatspace.
Ergo, vandalism, like Paris Hilton, will always be with us, and for much the same reason.