that's when a thing is made more real than real, by labeling it clearly, accentuating your awareness of it
like how a videogame questgiver has a big symbol over their head so you know where to find them, and when you turn it in there's a musical fanfare
like how a Happy Meal tells you exactly how you're supposed to feel when you eat it
like how a politician, a social media influencer, or the high-drama person in your life starts telling you that THIS group of people are amazing and THAT group of people are terrible, and listing out a hundred little reasons why
(if you've heard us talk about this before, it's probably been in the context of hyper-real simulacra, which are when the hyper-real thing also lacks substance and takes the place of real things that would otherwise exist. but hyper-reality and simulacra are slightly different thingies that can exist separately, though they often come together, and in this post we're just talking about hyper-reality)
hyper-reality is a powerful tool for tugging at people's emotions, sometimes in large ways, sometimes in small ways.
it's not necessarily bad! videogames are fun, after all. but it's really nice to have practiced the self-awareness to notice when it's affecting you, and how, so you can make a conscious decision about whether to let it.
we think, in particular, that a large amount of social media conflict would be sharply reduced if everyone were better at noticing hyper-reality and its effect on their emotions
The app, I mean. It's got some free meditation courses that I really like and help teach you even a mild way to become more present, which for me is a big component of noticing and removing myself from unwanted hyper-reality. It's hard to be mad about someone saying something on a website when I can smell the room I'm in and hear my cat purring again.