EMOTIONAL RESCUE

By answering the question, "Why do we entertain ourselves?" We learn that we can help people "change the channel on their brains." by exploiting Reflex engagement and aspects of Cognitive engagement.

And there is yet another reason we entertain ourselves:

Reason number two: Entertainment is self-medication for our emotions.

I’m sure at one time or another you have thought something like, "I’m really down. I want to go see a movie." Part of this is, of course, the desire to cut yourself off from the real world and your own anxieties. But there are times when you feel like being cheered up, not just distracted. There are also times when you are happy but you feel that your life lacks drama. At those times you might seek out the company of others, to share the drama of their lives. Or you might go to a film with dramatic emotional themes.

The same thing goes for music -- "I want to dance." or "I want to listen to an opera." You may even want your environment to reflect your mood. Depressed people often listen to depressing music. Happy people, happy music. After all, it can sometimes be painful to be reminded of other, opposite, emotional states. In all these cases, what we want is to be affected.

Affect means "to touch or move the emotions." It’s "a feeling or emotion as distinguished from cognition, thought, or action." It is also the human need most ignored by developers of non-entertainment computer applications.

Unlike simple engagement, which distracts for only as long as the attraction holds, Affect lingers. Engagement may hold your attention, but if you’re in a down mood and somebody tells you a good story, it may actually cheer you up. You’ll even feel good for some time afterwards.