I wouldn't say a virus is quite the term for it. A meme, in the Dawkinian sense, describes it well.
A meme rarely spreads purely through social influence though. Religion, cultural trends, and jokes app spread because there's some deeper appeal than just fitting in.
I'd say this is a case where it's even more likely there's a deeper appeal to accepting the social contagion, since there's the obvious downside of being stigmatized for neurological disorders, whether real or imagined.
My first guess would be that there's a shared, desperate need to be unique, yet still find comfort in some sort of comraderie.
p
I wouldn't say a virus is quite the term for it. A meme, in the Dawkinian sense, describes it well.
A meme rarely spreads purely through social influence though. Religion, cultural trends, and jokes app spread because there's some deeper appeal than just fitting in.
I'd say this is a case where it's even more likely there's a deeper appeal to accepting the social contagion, since there's the obvious downside of being stigmatized for neurological disorders, whether real or imagined.
My first guess would be that there's a shared, desperate need to be unique, yet still find comfort in some sort of comraderie.
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