# The Perils of Audience Capture ![rw-book-cover](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1200,h_600,c_limit,f_jpg,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F62f96f3e-f113-44d6-9897-c7eca5c83716_2048x1468.jpeg) URL:: https://gurwinder.substack.com/p/the-perils-of-audience-capture Author:: Gurwinder ## Highlights > We often talk of "captive audiences," regarding the performer as hypnotizing their viewers. But just as often, it's the viewers hypnotizing the performer. This disease, of which Perry is but one victim of many, is known as *audience capture*, and it's essential to understanding influencers in particular and the online ecosystem in general. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01g9tdhtt38yzzkm7bd130ez2a)) > Put simply, in order to be someone, we need someone to be someone for. Our personalities develop as a role we perform for other people, fulfilling the expectations we think they have of us. The American sociologist Charles Cooley dubbed this phenomenon “the looking glass self.” ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01g9tdk1v2s2q9drsq3j1y8qcc)) > the everyday experience of seeing ourselves through imagined eyes in social situations (the [spotlight effect](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spotlight_effect)), the tendency for people to alter their behavior when in the presence of pictures of eyes (the [watching-eye effect](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watching-eye_effect)), and the tendency for people in virtual spaces to adopt the traits of their avatars in an attempt to fulfill expectations (the [Proteus effect](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proteus_effect)). ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01g9tdm1qqb5g0qhay3s5vp7pz)) > The “[Michelangelo phenomenon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michelangelo_phenomenon)” is the name given to the semi-conscious cycle of refinement and feedback whereby lovers who genuinely care what each other think gradually grow closer to their partner's original ideal of them. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01g9tdm8xz7ahff7y689nqjqw5)) > The problem is, we no longer live solely among those we know well. We're now forced to refine our personalities by the countless eyes of strangers. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01g9tdmft1np5ev5b2xc8z6xva)) > When influencers are analyzing audience feedback, they often find that their more outlandish behavior receives the most attention and approval, which leads them to recalibrate their personalities according to far more extreme social cues than those they'd receive in real life. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01g9tdn2b9p9410z50hc7wf7hp)) > The Prostitution of the Intellect ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01g9tdn8mn388jfg3ffm3s3b9w)) > I surrounded myself with the people I wanted to be like. On Twitter I cultivated a reasonable, open-minded audience by posting reasonable, open-minded tweets. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01g9tdq2z8h0695v2kxgcf0rkv)) > though audience capture likely does affect me in some way, it only makes me more like the person I want to be. I hacked the system. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01g9tdqd1b8v3tf687fmsbps6n)) > This is the ultimate trapdoor in the hall of fame; to become a prisoner of one's own persona. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01g9tdqwaqnztx50y02yy2cg2g)) --- Title: The Perils of Audience Capture Author: Gurwinder Tags: readwise, articles date: 2024-01-30 --- # The Perils of Audience Capture ![rw-book-cover](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1200,h_600,c_limit,f_jpg,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F62f96f3e-f113-44d6-9897-c7eca5c83716_2048x1468.jpeg) URL:: https://gurwinder.substack.com/p/the-perils-of-audience-capture Author:: Gurwinder ## AI-Generated Summary How influencers become brainwashed by their audiences ## Highlights > We often talk of "captive audiences," regarding the performer as hypnotizing their viewers. But just as often, it's the viewers hypnotizing the performer. This disease, of which Perry is but one victim of many, is known as *audience capture*, and it's essential to understanding influencers in particular and the online ecosystem in general. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01g9tdhtt38yzzkm7bd130ez2a)) > Put simply, in order to be someone, we need someone to be someone for. Our personalities develop as a role we perform for other people, fulfilling the expectations we think they have of us. The American sociologist Charles Cooley dubbed this phenomenon “the looking glass self.” ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01g9tdk1v2s2q9drsq3j1y8qcc)) > the everyday experience of seeing ourselves through imagined eyes in social situations (the [spotlight effect](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spotlight_effect)), the tendency for people to alter their behavior when in the presence of pictures of eyes (the [watching-eye effect](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watching-eye_effect)), and the tendency for people in virtual spaces to adopt the traits of their avatars in an attempt to fulfill expectations (the [Proteus effect](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proteus_effect)). ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01g9tdm1qqb5g0qhay3s5vp7pz)) > The “[Michelangelo phenomenon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michelangelo_phenomenon)” is the name given to the semi-conscious cycle of refinement and feedback whereby lovers who genuinely care what each other think gradually grow closer to their partner's original ideal of them. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01g9tdm8xz7ahff7y689nqjqw5)) > The problem is, we no longer live solely among those we know well. We're now forced to refine our personalities by the countless eyes of strangers. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01g9tdmft1np5ev5b2xc8z6xva)) > When influencers are analyzing audience feedback, they often find that their more outlandish behavior receives the most attention and approval, which leads them to recalibrate their personalities according to far more extreme social cues than those they'd receive in real life. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01g9tdn2b9p9410z50hc7wf7hp)) > The Prostitution of the Intellect ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01g9tdn8mn388jfg3ffm3s3b9w)) > I surrounded myself with the people I wanted to be like. On Twitter I cultivated a reasonable, open-minded audience by posting reasonable, open-minded tweets. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01g9tdq2z8h0695v2kxgcf0rkv)) > though audience capture likely does affect me in some way, it only makes me more like the person I want to be. I hacked the system. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01g9tdqd1b8v3tf687fmsbps6n)) > This is the ultimate trapdoor in the hall of fame; to become a prisoner of one's own persona. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01g9tdqwaqnztx50y02yy2cg2g))