Although it is enjoyable to squeeze our pimples or to try to get rid of them with our own efforts, it also feels so comforting to watch people other than ourselves do this.
Have you ever thought why we continue to do this knowing that this behavior is not right and why we continue to watch with great admiration when we see a video of a person squeezing his own acne?
To understand the appeal of these videos, we may first think about why we feel so good when pus is gushing out of our own faces.
In fact, the purpose of most of us to pop the pimples on our body is to see it as the easiest and fastest way to fix it. In a way, we think we are self-medicating, and in this way we unconsciously develop a sense of satisfaction.
Others, on the other hand, experience an extraordinary sense of fascination when they see the pus erupt.
A neuroscientific study aimed at investigating what goes on in our brains while watching acne-squeezing videos tried to shed light on this observation.
In a 2021 study, a technique called fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) scanned the brains of 80 women using an MRI scanner. The women were shown the videos of popping acne, steam cleaning and water fountain.
However, in this direction, the focus of the two groups of participants was important; who likes and dislikes watching pimple popping videos. In addition to watching these videos, the participants filled out some questionnaires about their feelings in general and their feelings and thoughts about these videos in particular.
Survey data revealed that women who enjoyed watching pimple popping videos had a much lower overall urge to be disgusted than those who didn’t.
Analyzes of neuroimaging data found that women who were less likely to feel disgust, compared to the other group, activated the frontopolar cortex regions of their brains rapidly when watching these videos.
In short, this brain region is all about coding actions and predicting the consequences of motor skills. These people who watch the videos look forward to applying pressure to the area to see the moment when the pimple opens and empties.
Scientists, in the light of these findings, why some people like to watch acne videos; He agreed on two different views that some of them found it quite disgusting. The first is the differences in the ability to regulate disgust.
In its most basic form, disgust is an emotion that helps us avoid situations that are dangerous to our health, as it can lead to poisoning or infection, such as an infected wound.
While these acne videos are quite repulsive, they pose no real threat to the health of those who watch it, just as someone watching a horror movie is not in danger of being killed. At this point, people who enjoy videos about acne have a much better ability to tune their disgust response while watching them than those who are disgusted by it.
Another view is high curiosity.
Previous research has reported that watching these generally negative content can activate the brain’s reward system in some people. In summary, it can be said that people who like to watch videos about acne have a much higher curiosity drive than those who don’t.
Although squeezing our pimples usually gives us satisfaction, dermatologists recommend that we do not continue this behavior persistently.
While popping our pimples might make us think we’re going to get rid of them, hitting a pimple actually makes that area more susceptible to infections, causing the pimples to spread further, resulting in scars. In this case, it will be very useful to clean the acne area with a regular care routine and to get a dermatologist’s opinion.
We hope these GIFs and images have put you at ease…
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