• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Towleroad
  • Towleroad on Social Media
  • Privacy Policy

Towleroad Gay News

Gay Blog Towleroad: More than gay news | gay men

  • Travel
  • Sports
  • Law/Justice
  • Celebrities
  • Republicans
  • Madonna
  • Books
  • Men
  • Trans Rights
  • Royals
  • Monkeypox
  • Megyn Kelly RIPS Don Lemon Over Kaitlin Collins Fight, Says She Would’ve Had Him FIRED If He ‘Screamed’ At Her
  • Gladiator sequel gets 2024 release date
  • Knock at the Cabin star Ben Aldridge could ‘breathe easier’ after coming out as gay

What Your Ability to Engage with Stories Says About Your Real-Life Relationships

Nathan Silver and Michael Slater, The Conversation May 20, 2019 Leave a Comment

lorasandrenly
Gethin Anthony and Finn Jones as Loras and Renly on Game of Thrones.

The best TV shows and films don’t simply distract from the drudgery of everyday life. They’re places to vicariously get to know different people, and learn from their relationships and experiences.

Media scholars like ourselves have a term for how stories can effect us in these ways – “boundary expansion” – and every viewer experiences some level of this.

But some seem more drawn to these fictional characters and their fictional worlds than others.

In a recent study, we wanted to learn more about these types of people. Why do some become absorbed in the tumultuous relationships playing out before their eyes on the screen – holding their breath during every tense interaction – while others seem to have a tougher time connecting with the characters and the drama?

Interestingly, we found that your attachment style – or your ability to form close relationships in real life – can play a big role.

Why some struggle to form close relationships

According to attachment theory, your experiences with caregivers in childhood tend to influence how you relate to romantic partners later in life. If a caregiver is appropriately nurturing without being too overprotective, you’ll develop secure attachments as an adult.

But many who grow up with unreliable caregivers will go on to develop insecure attachments in adulthood. Psychologists have parsed insecure attachment styles into three types.

  1. Those who constantly worry about the security of their relationships have an anxious attachment style.

  2. Others steer clear of intimacy altogether, which is an avoidant attachment style.

  3. Then there are those who experience severe anxiety about close relationships and cope with their anxiety through avoidance. This is often called a fearful-avoidant attachment style, and these individuals still long for intimacy, but will often sabotage their relationships.

An imaginary refuge

We suspected that, in lieu of forming fulfilling real-life relationships, people with insecure attachment patterns might find refuge in the fictional worlds of television and film.

In the study, we administered a survey to 1,039 American adults. Some of the questions assessed their attachment anxiety (“I often worry that my partner doesn’t care as much about me as I do about them”) and avoidant tendencies (“I feel myself pulling away when partner’s get too close”).

We also looked at their proclivity to engage in boundary expansion, asking them to respond to statements like “When watching television and film, I experience what it’s like to meet people I wouldn’t otherwise meet.”

We found a consistent pattern. Those who possessed anxiety about their relationships could more easily engage with stories and were more likely to form imagined relationships with characters. They were better able to vicariously pursue unmet needs through the stories, were more likely to reflect on events from stories and were more likely to report that they had learned something about the real world from watching these stories.

However, those who expressed avoidant tendencies seemed unable to engage with and reflect on stories on TV or in movies in the same way. It’s almost as if they shy away from feeling anything, emotionally, from what they watch – much in the same way they avoid intimacy in real life.

The most interesting results were for those who exhibited both anxious and avoidant attachment patterns. These people seemed to have the best ability to engage with the stories and feel something towards the characters.

We suspect this may be due to the fact that these fictional stories act as a safe space – a place to circumvent their anxiety without succumbing to their avoidant tendencies. After all, they must know, deep down, that none of it is real: There aren’t any demands for closeness being made and there’s no relationship to sabotage.

Our study shows that fictional stories can act as a refuge and create opportunities for personal growth.

We’re not saying that watching more television or movies will automatically improve your life or your relationships. But there’s something certainly to be said about the power stories can wield – and their ability to help those grappling with real-life attachment issues.The Conversation

Nathan Silver, PhD Student in Communication, The Ohio State University and Michael Slater, Director, School of Communication, The Ohio State University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Topics: Film/TV/Stream, Men, Space, World More Posts About: Dating, Entertainment, Film, movies, Relationships, Television, tv

Related Posts
  • LGBTQ Pro Wrestling Documentary ‘Out In The Ring’ Wins Best Canadian Feature at Inside Out Toronto Film Festival
  • Chase Chrisley Posts Cryptic Message About ‘Getting Through’ Tough Situations After Todd Allegedly Paid Blackmailer
  • Viola Davis was called by director’s maid’s name
  • Gladiator sequel gets 2024 release date

    Gladiator sequel gets 2024 release date

    Published by BANG Showbiz English The ‘Gladiator’ sequel will be released on November 22, 2024. The Sir Ridley Scott-directed sequel to the award-winning drama movie is set to start filming this year, with Paul Mescal, 26, …Read More »
  • Knock at the Cabin star Ben Aldridge could ‘breathe easier’ after coming out as gay

    Knock at the Cabin star Ben Aldridge could ‘breathe easier’ after coming out as gay

    Published by BANG Showbiz English Ben Aldridge could “breathe easier” after he came out as gay. The 37-year-old actor – who was raised as an evangelical Christian – announced his sexuality to the world on f …Read More »
  • Florida moves to revoke Orlando event venue’s liquor license after drag queen show

    Florida moves to revoke Orlando event venue’s liquor license after drag queen show

    Published by Orlando Sentinel ORLANDO, Fla. — The Plaza Live, an Orlando event venue that came under state scrutiny for hosting an all-age drag queen performance in December, could lose its ability to sell alcohol, according …Read More »
  • 25 Years Ago: Rob Halford Shocks Himself by Coming Out on MTV

    25 Years Ago: Rob Halford Shocks Himself by Coming Out on MTV

    Published by Ultimate Classic Rock Nobody expected Rob Halford to come out as gay when he sat down for a fateful MTV interview on Feb. 4, 1998 — least of all the Metal God himself. Six …Read More »
Previous Post: « Fans Spot Two Water Bottles in ‘Game of Thrones’ Finale
Next Post: ‘FOX & Friends’ Host Calls Pete Buttigieg a ‘Clown,’ Warps His Remarks About Jefferson to Imply He’s Unpatriotic: WATCH »

Primary Sidebar

Adjacent News

  • Beyoncé Could Make Music History at the 2023 Grammy Awards

    Beyoncé Could Make Music History at the 2023 Grammy Awards

  • Behold: The new GOP culture wars | Opinion

    Behold: The new GOP culture wars | Opinion

  • Suspected Chinese surveillance balloon is shot down Over the Atlantic

    Suspected Chinese surveillance balloon is shot down Over the Atlantic

Good Trash: Going to Read It Somewhere, Y'know

  • Dennis Rodman On If He’d Ever Get Back With Ex-Girlfriends: “I Tried Madonna, I Tried Carmen Electra…”

    Dennis Rodman On If He’d Ever Get Back With Ex-Girlfriends: “I Tried Madonna, I Tried Carmen Electra…”

  • James Gunn Seemingly Confirms The DCU Will Finally Have Gay Superheroes

    James Gunn Seemingly Confirms The DCU Will Finally Have Gay Superheroes

  • Vanilla Ice Admits He Rejected Madonna’s Proposal Before They Split: ‘I Thought The Guy Was Supposed To Do That’

    Vanilla Ice Admits He Rejected Madonna’s Proposal Before They Split: ‘I Thought The Guy Was Supposed To Do That’

RSS Partner Links

  • Jonathan Groff & Ben Aldridge talk “Knock at the Cabin” and film’s queer representation
  • The Voice(s): Jimmy James Returns To NYC
  • C&L's Late Night Music Club: Kurt Vile
  • The Richest Beauty Gurus, Ranked from Lowest to Highest (& the Top 2 Are Worth Hundreds of Millions)
  • A Date With 'Cat Daddies'
  • Tucker Carlson Wants To Liberate... Canada?
  • On the Rag, Vol. 736

Most Recent

  • Megyn Kelly RIPS Don Lemon Over Kaitlin Collins Fight, Says She Would’ve Had Him FIRED If He ‘Screamed’ At Her

    Megyn Kelly RIPS Don Lemon Over Kaitlin Collins Fight, Says She Would’ve Had Him FIRED If He ‘Screamed’ At Her

  • Gladiator sequel gets 2024 release date

    Gladiator sequel gets 2024 release date

  • Knock at the Cabin star Ben Aldridge could ‘breathe easier’ after coming out as gay

    Knock at the Cabin star Ben Aldridge could ‘breathe easier’ after coming out as gay

  • Florida moves to revoke Orlando event venue’s liquor license after drag queen show

    Florida moves to revoke Orlando event venue’s liquor license after drag queen show

  • 25 Years Ago: Rob Halford Shocks Himself by Coming Out on MTV

    25 Years Ago: Rob Halford Shocks Himself by Coming Out on MTV

  • At this school, rainbows are sentenced to prism time and sex ed sticks to the basics | Opinion

    At this school, rainbows are sentenced to prism time and sex ed sticks to the basics | Opinion

  • Japan PM Kishida fires aide over same-sex couple outburst

    Japan PM Kishida fires aide over same-sex couple outburst

  • Rupert Everett claims to know who Prince Harry lost his virginity to

    Rupert Everett claims to know who Prince Harry lost his virginity to

Most Commented

Social

Twitter @tlrd | Facebook | Instagram @tlrd

Footer

Copyright © 2023 · Log in

×