



Oh, the pain! Oh, the drama! We are uncovering all the lies in your relationship …
| Definition Social Porn: Watching other peoples’ relationships without really having a relationship with them – and mentally participating in their dramas. |
Since the early 80’s there has been a Tsunami of afternoon talk shows filled with social drama and pain.
And we are loving it!
It is amazing how the Queens and Kings of "honesty" and "self righteousness" are police, judge and executioner in one person. Oprah made Billions of Dollars with her tears, Jeremy Kyle currently tries to do the same in the UK.
But the real question is: Why do we frenetically watch and love Social Porn?

Every tear is worth a million dollars …
It all comes down to us being social animals. When you look at many fellow mammals they have social hierarchies like us with different ranks. Everybody knows what an alpha-male or alpha-female is.
But one essential feature of social networking (the real thing, not the simulation on Facebook) is watching other "animals" in the tribe. Watching the "others" allows us to spot opportunities to climb the social ladder, make new friends, know who our enemies are and our enemies’ enemies are.
The most important part of watching others is to learn where you stand in the tribe’s hierarchy and your chances to climb higher or fail …

Yeah, you might be bigger, but my social ranking is higher …
For some animals this is much easier: dogs sniff other dogs arse or even sample their urine or poo – and can analyse from this the status and current health of the fellow canine.
We primates have developed the face as the main social interFACE. Compared to most other animals the primates’ face has the more muscles and expressions than anyone else on this planet. Ape and human faces have an incredible range of "gestures" – which work even across species.
Our faces tell complete stories without words. We can socialize simply by looking at each other. You usually can see in an instant if someone looking at you likes you or hates you; if there is a chance for a better social contact or if that other person might even attack you …
So by watching and gossiping with others about others we learn what’s going on in the group, what the other members strengths and weaknesses are, and which tactics are successful or devastating.

I’ll scratch your back, if you …
Being successful in climbing the social ladder increases our chances of mating and spreading our genes. Yes, Ladies & Gentleman, it all comes down to mating once again …
And watching social porn on TV confirms this: it’s mostly about sex and cheating.
When we watch these dramas, we learn how to "protect" our own social involvement and genetic "investment". Of course we want partners, who are safe for our offspring and support them. We don’t want cheats that are a danger to our sperm or egg investment – and therefore perpetuation of our "selfish gene".
Social Porn on TV is a highly valuable lesson to "spot" cheaters and avoid failures in reproduction.

Wait a minute! Is that critter really mine?!
So watching social porn on TV and gossiping about relationships has an important biological benefit. We learn how to be successful animals and mating mates …
But there is also a strong social and moral component to it. We humans have transformed many "biological mechanisms" into social rules like married people do not engage in sex with strangers. Based on these social rules we have created moral and religious restrictions as well.
"You shall not covet your neighbour’s wife (or husband)." is simply a biological need (protecting your sperm & eggs from invaders) turned into a social and moral rule.
So Social Porn also enforces these "morals" when cheaters and liars get booed by the audience and judged by the presenter. That is why the Ladies in the audience hiss, when a boyfriend cheated on his bitch – it’s a violation of the biological contract of only breeding exclusively together.
This social pressure is once again there to protect our biological investments.

We love watching Alpha-Couples, especially when they are media whores and on twitter.
The biological background also explains why we love watching alpha-animals of the global tribe and their relationships. Like good herd animals we learn from watching the strongest and fittest of our flock.
That is why so many people know more about the life’s of celebrities and their relationships than their neighbours living in the same house. Our biological desire is to swim ahead in the genetic pool and score the most adorable eggs or sperm available. That is why some ladies fantasize about sleeping with Bruce Willies, while Guy virtually impregnate Megan Fox.
That’s Social Porn in it’s most basic form and desire. Women and men do it equally.