Rosalia, Victoria Beckham, Dua Lipa and even the Grandmother of Dragons herself. There are many celebrities who have joined the fever Sonny’s AngelsThese little naked dolls wear colorful hats that you can stick to your cell phone or computer. The reality is that if you think about it coldly, it is difficult to understand how simple dolls became so famous.
The Japanese are real professionals in creating toys and these, based on cartoon Kewpie, They are a good example. But no matter how many Japanese brands are behind them, there is something else that makes Sonny Angels a revolution.
Something that consciously or unconsciously touches the necessary points in our brain, so that we see them not as a piece of plastic, but as necessity. So what are these points?
The Importance of the Surprise Factor in Sonny’s Angels
One of the details that made Sonny Angels so famous is that we can’t choose the model we want. There are themes: vegetables, fruits, sweets… And within these themes we buy a surprise bag. We don’t know which of the kids we’ll get.
This is the first point in our brain that is activated by these dolls. Our brain loves surprises. It looked great in a study conducted by scientists at Emory University and Baylor College of Medicine in 2001.
The experiment involved using a device that placed a small amount of water or water into the mouths of a group of volunteers. fruit juice. In some cases they knew exactly what would fall. However, in other cases it was completely accidental.
While the volunteers were using the device, they walked fMRIin which you can see how different parts of the brain are activated by certain stimuli. They noticed that the reward centers were activated much more intensely when the reward—fruit juice—was unexpected. If they saw her coming, they felt pleasure but not that much. Moreover, the anticipation itself was also enjoyable. Our brains are known to prefer bad news to uncertainty. There is less nervousness and discomfort when receiving bad news than when waiting, even knowing that there is a chance that it could be good.
On the other hand, if the expectation is good news or something neutral, this uncertainty is pleasant. That’s what you get with Sonny Angels. But why doesn’t the same thing happen, for example, with Kinder Surprise?
Fear of missing out
Since the term was first coined in 2004, FOMO (fear of missing out)became quite popular. It is used to describe the discomfort that comes from not participating in something. fashion phenomenon. For example, when we didn’t hang out with our classmates around the university one weekend, and the next Monday we didn’t talk about anything else in class. We were sorry we missed it.
The era of social media has greatly intensified this feeling. If we don’t participate in trends that go viral, we may feel uncomfortable that we are not on the same page as the majority. This can generate compulsive behavior for some people. For example, towards the use of social networks. Let’s not forget that humans are social animals. Create connections with other people This is very important for us from a psychological point of view, so fashion continues to be a way to feel part of a group.
There was never a Kinder surprise something viralbut Sonny Angels have. So while there are many toys that we may find ourselves surprised by, these are the ones that have really made a splash. Those that everyone needs, because everyone learns on such a huge dynamic as social networks.
Nostalgia, novelty and Sonny Angels
Another strength of Sonny Angels is that they are the perfect combination of nostalgia and novelty. On the one hand, these are still toys, so They remind us of childhood. At that time we usually didn’t have big problems and didn’t feel like anything was out of our control. This creates a lot of peace in our brain. And a lot of good feeling. It has been observed that feelings of homesickness can even reduce the sensation of pain.
But let’s get back to Kinder Surprise. Why doesn’t it give us the same nostalgia? After all, this is what most of us consumed as children. This is where another Sonny Angels trick comes into play: novelty.
Novelty is controlled in the brain in an area known as Substantia nigra/ventral segmental area (SN/ASV). This, in turn, is closely related to hippocampus and amygdala, two areas involved in emotion control, memory, and learning.
There is research that shows that when we are exposed to a new stimulus and the SN/ASV system is activated, reward systems and a feeling of pleasure arises. This is because novelty actually gives us experience and knowledge that can enrich us. That’s why our brain encourages it.
In short, Sonny’s Angels has everything it needs to succeed if we stick to the way our brains work. Like any fashion, when everyone knows about it, they will no longer be seen on social networks as often and they will no longer generate FOMO, they will fade into oblivion. At best, they will return many years later when they turn on our nostalgia button. But there will no longer be such a big fever, because it will no longer be a novelty.
Source: Hiper Textual
