Ex-Scientologist Aaron Smith-Levin discusses cultish mind control from Scientology, the Left vs. Right, and insights on cancel culture. They explore secrets, trust, societal norms, and navigating YouTube's challenges. Delve into the complexities of secrecy, voting decisions, embracing imperfections, and critical thinking in diverse perspectives.
Influencers build intimate connections with viewers by encouraging sharing secrets, fostering trust and validation.
Assertive individuals are perceived as more trustworthy for keeping secrets, challenging the notion that politeness equates to trustworthiness.
Societal expectations shape gender-specific secret-keeping tendencies, with women internalizing appearance and behavior ideals and men facing shame around sexual and financial issues.
Deep dives
Parasocial Relationships In The Digital Age
Reciprocal interaction on platforms like YouTube has led to close relationships with influencers, creating parasocial bonds with viewers. These relationships encourage viewers to confide their secrets, seeking connection and validation from the influencer.
The Burden of Keeping Secrets
Viewers sharing their deep secrets with influencers can place a burden on the influencer to keep these secrets confidential. This burden can lead to a sense of responsibility and intimacy, creating a complex dynamic between influencers and their audience.
The Compulsion to Confide in Assertive Individuals
Contrary to popular belief, people are more likely to share their secrets with assertive individuals rather than polite or enthusiastic ones. Assertive individuals are viewed as capable of handling secrets effectively, leading to increased disclosure and trust.
Navigating Vulnerability and Authenticity Online
Online interactions challenge concepts of trust and authenticity, as viewers navigate sharing personal stories with influencers. The balance between vulnerability and privacy influences the depth of connection and disclosure in digital relationships.
Importance of Assertiveness and Compassion in Building Trust
It emphasizes the significance of being assertive and compassionate when seeking trust and sharing secrets. The podcast suggests that politeness, while valued, may not always be synonymous with trustworthiness or the ability to keep secrets. Heroes in movies and stories are often portrayed as renegades or rebels who are assertive, compassionate, and willing to challenge the system. Assertiveness, compassion, and the ability to get things done are qualities that align more with trustworthiness than mere politeness.
Gender Disparities in Secret-keeping and Societal Expectations
The podcast delves into the idea that women may tend to keep more secrets than men due to societal expectations and norms. Women are conditioned from a young age with various societal pressures around appearance, behavior, and secrecy. This conditioning leads to women internalizing and accumulating small secrets, possibly related to food consumption or body image. Men, on the other hand, may struggle with societal expectations around sexual activity and financial success, which can also lead to feelings of shame and the need to keep secrets. The discussion highlights the ongoing societal disparities in expectations and the impact they have on secret-keeping tendencies between genders.
Kelli Copter interviews me today about secrets, psychology and scientology. It’s a great chance for me to yabber on about things I find important, and I hope it’s of interest to you. Please sub to Kelli: https://www.youtube.com/@KelliCopter
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