Why Are Online Neighbourhood Watch Groups So Paranoid? I Asked Psychologists

“When our eldest was five or six, he said he wanted to see [some local] baby swans... before everyone else got there,” Redditor u/franki-pinks shared with r/AskUK. But though the child, who went with his dad before sunrise, had a “great time,” the poster’s husband mentioned that a woman “kept driving past them”.Later, images of the boy and his father went small-town viral on a local neighbourhood watch page. Many were “speculating” about what was going on, even going so far as to assume that the gym bag containing the father and son’s breakfast was a body bag. The comments were filled with similar experiences. A woman’s husband, doing a tree survey for the parish council, was described as a “dodgy looking guy” peering into gardens; the owner of a three-legged cat was accused of animal abuse.A page called Angry People In Local Facebook Groups shares irate, unwarranted ramblings from suspicious posters, too.So, we spoke to experts about what they think is going on. Posting pictures of strangers online is unacceptable, but it keeps happeningSpeaking to HuffPost UK, media psychologist Dr Pam Rutledge said that in the original poster’s (OP’s) case, “it shows a total lack of respect for privacy to post an image (especially if it features a minor) online without permission”.Still, she said, it’s a “growing problem” – especially in local watch pages, which “often amplify paranoia, encouraging public speculation based on little evidence”.Posters may be rewarded for posting more intense stories with high engagement, the psychologist added, which “can override concerns for victims’ privacy, well-being, or the legitimacy of the claim”.And bonding over a shared fear – real or imagined – may provide “social validation and increased feelings of belonging”.Psychologist Rod Mitchell, from Emotions Therapy, agrees, saying “neighbourhood Facebook groups have become petri dishes for collective fear”.“In face-to-face interactions, we have a range of built-in reality checks – you see their face, hear their voice, pick up on a thousand tiny cues that say ‘okay, maybe this isn’t actually a crisis,’” he told us. “All of these reality checks ... are absent when you’re in an online space.”The paranoia is contagious and even rewarding Dr Rutledge noted “platform algorithms reward emotional content, so posts that spark fear or outrage get more attention” – not only that, but “moral panic spreads easily” on these sites.Mitchell said local group paranoia is a classic case of “emotional contagion”, which encourages us to “catch” feelings from our in-groups like a cold.“When one person posts about a ‘suspicious’ person with a sports bag, the collective anxiety amplifies with each new comment. Paranoia builds until we start to see innocent behaviour as something sinister and dangerous,” he shared.And when you read a panic-inducing post, “your mirror neurons light up, your heart rate kicks up a notch”, he added.“You also get a hit of dopamine from spotting something important, being the neighbourhood hero who saw the ‘threat’. Before you know it, everyone’s feeding off everyone else’s fear, and the paranoia spreads through the entire group.”In other words, it doesn’t look like the paranoid posting is going anywhere soon...Related...Should You Ever Cry In Front Of Your Kids? I Asked A TherapistCan A Hand Exercise Really Help Prevent Dementia? I Asked Experts'I Ghosted My Friend After She Asked To Split Her Birthday Bill. Was I Unfair?'

Comments

Breaking news

'This play is a sensation' - Review: The Mountaintop, Lyceum, Edinburgh

The Herald

Comments

Breaking news

'This play is a sensation' - Review: The Mountaintop, Lyceum, Edinburgh

Teachers raise fears over lack of ASN provision in schools

Double decker bus roof ripped off after crashing into railway bridge in South Norwood

Man in court charged with rape and deliberately infecting victims with HIV

‘AI playlist curation is harming UK festivals – here’s how we can fight back’

Business Idea: Starting with Stationary Stall Your Business! Earn month ₹ 20,000!

'She Will Get Better': Mel Stride's Attempt To Defend Kemi Badenoch Backfires Spectacularly

I Took My VO2 Max From 'Fair' To 'Excellent' With This Running Plan

Senior aide to New Zealand prime minister resigns over secret recordings of sex workers

Potential location of Trump’s presidential library revealed in new report

Teacher in Nigeria loses dozens of relatives and pupils in devastating floods

Missouri Senate backs aid for tornado victims and Kansas City Chiefs and Royals

Stablecoin bigwig Circle set to make its debut on the New York Stock Exchange

Jordan Johnson-Doyle: Body found in search for British backpacker who went missing in Malaysia

Emperor's visit to Okinawa reflects imperial family's close ties to the island. Here is why he cares

PHOTO COLLECTION: French Open Tennis Spectators

Governments scramble to understand Trump's latest travel ban before it takes effect Monday

Muslim pilgrims seek forgiveness and shade on Mount Arafat during key Hajj ritual

Worker’s hilarious reaction to Rachel Reeves’ transport speech caught on camera

Gang followed Greek tourist from nightclub before stabbing, court hears

Takeaways from AP examination showing benefits, costs of rules Trump EPA wants to change

PHOTO COLLECTION: French Open Tennis Ball Girls and Boys

Faro Airport opens e-gates to British travellers in time for summer – minister

The number of Americans filing for jobless benefits last week rises to highest level in eight months

Gillette maker Procter & Gamble to cut 7,000 jobs in two-year overhaul

British woman jailed in Sri Lanka on drug offences could be months from bail hearing, lawyer warns

Shaq and Iverson team up to revive Reebok from obscurity in the Netflix docuseries 'Power Moves'

TV doctor shares the questions every man over 60 must ask their GP

National Trust covers up artwork with JK Rowling’s name after public interference

Democrats claim Trump’s travel ban is just a distraction so his spending bill can get through Congress

Trump secretly admired Ukraine’s ‘badass’ drone attack - but worries it’ll make Russia ceasefire harder: report

Dr Martens sees profits slide but on track for return to growth

Attack on Russian nuclear bombers captured in new Ukraine drone footage

Child, 6, died after inhaling helium from a large Mylar balloon, medical examiner says

Trump and China’s Xi speak after president calls trade adversary ‘extremely hard to make deal with’

Lee Jae Myung calls South Korean presidential office a ‘graveyard’ after shambolic handover of power

Hard-partying dropout overtakes Taylor Swift to become youngest self-made female billionaire…& she has an odd food habit

Inside ‘eerie pain clinic’ which was in UK’s biggest hospital, now abandoned with crumbling ceilings & flooded corridors

Sun lounger vigilantes RUINED my holiday, says disabled Brit OAP after fuming tourists were filmed snatching pool towels

Town centre dubbed ‘long-forgotten eyesore’ set for £65m transformation into ‘stunning’ landmark and plaza

Trump hailed Ukraine ‘Op Spiderweb’ drone strikes as ‘badass’ – but he fears Putin will ‘go crazy’ after crunch call

West Lothian volunteer recognised for hard work with local kids initiative

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet's free update for Switch 2 has 'never looked better'

West Lothian organisation receives funding from Scottish Government to continue climate change actions

Six people arrested after police recover cocaine and £38,000 in cash

West Lothian Council’s headquarters used for filming of hit BBC & Netflix series

'Eyesore' primary school in Cumnock is set to be demolished

Data roaming abroad - how much you'll pay to use your phone on holiday this summer

Young Scots groomed by gangsters to carry out crimes due to 'reduced risk' of being jailed

Missing UK tourist found dead at bottom of lift shaft in Malaysia

Police release images of three men after Ibrox 'incident' during Rangers v Athletic Bilbao clash

Primark shoppers urge others to check out 'stunning' £25 summer dress

Madeleine McCann search teams to conclude three-day operation in Portugal

Fraudsters behind £6m NHS Scotland corruption and bribery scandal jailed for 29 years

Specsavers in Wishaw sponsor local martial arts school in providing 30 full training kits

Royal Mail unveil special stamps honouring UK attraction with dual hemispheres

Linlithgow and District 41 Club hold Annual General Meeting

Trump and China's Xi have phone call amid trade war

Lionesses squad for women's Euros revealed

What a weakening dollar means for Trump - and the UK