If you open any app today, you will see people following people. This is the same invisible force that we see now in every single app; people following people. One hashtag takes off, creating a mad rush for it. One hashtag goes viral, and it becomes a frenzy. Thousands of people are connected to a live stream because “everyone is watching”. The reason a game instantly becomes popular is that streamers win large sums of money while on camera. Someone posts about a large jackpot, and within a few minutes, you have a bunch of “I’m trying this now” comments. You post a pic of a massive jackpot, and within minutes, you have a ton of the “I’m trying this now” type comments.
People have been flocking to the masses since some of them were still alive. The two differences are that digital platforms turned crowds into data-driven machines and made crowd behavior real-time.
The Internet provides a setting where social behavior can be observed. We know what other people are doing through likes, shares, ‘trending lists’, ‘viewer counts’, ‘reactions’, ‘leaderboards’, and ‘live notifications. The brain “learns” that these signals are a quicker way to make decisions. We don’t stop and think about all our options – we think if so many people are doing it, it’s just valuable, safe, or rewarding.
Convenient? Yes. Rational? Not always.
Behavioral science is interesting here, particularly when integral to digital entertainment systems, gaming, and gambling culture. When it comes to platforms such as Play Amo, it’s simply the environment where visibility, excitement, and social proof trigger user behavior, even if they’re not aware of it.
Why the Brain Loves Crowds
Evolutionarily speaking, it was better to follow the group, increasing one’s chances of survival. Suppose that everyone in a tribe in the forest fled at the sound of a noise—researching would probably have been a folly.
Now, in the digital world, it’s the same behavior but with improved graphics and Wi-Fi experience.
This is the phenomenon psychologists would refer to as “social proof. If there is doubt, others offer us clues about what to do. When it comes to online, there is no place that is free of uncertainty:
- Would you play this game?
- Do you believe this trend is valid?
- Are you sure this streamer provides you with trust?
- Does this platform seem interesting/catchy or dull?
- Should I go/tell them to go away?
The answer to these questions comes immediately when it comes to crowd behavior.
- When it comes to popularity, the brain takes it as evidence.
- Not quality evidence, but evidence that “something is happening here.
- Humans don’t like to be out of the loop of what’s going on.
FOMO Is Basically Digital Gravity
The term FOMO, or fear of missing out, is trendy, but neurologically, there’s a strong link between FOMO, reward anticipation, and social belonging.
Today’s Internet is based upon expected experiences:
- anticipated rewards,
- anticipated status,
- anticipated entertainment,
- anticipated inclusion.
Take note of the meaning of the word anticipated. The anticipation of a reward elicits a stronger response in the brain than the reward itself.
Hence, countdown timers, limited-time offers, trending pages, and live activity feeds are highly effective. They put a sense of urgency. Now that I am suddenly inactive, it’s too much to give up my feelings.
This is particularly evident in a setting where gambling addiction occurs. Users are led to believe they are winning, ranking up, or participating in a live tournament when they see fast feedback on wins, ranks, or active tournaments, a phenomenon known to behavioral economists as availability bias. What is most obvious is that the results seem statistically standard, but aren’t.
In the quietness of the brain, some say:
- It feels like everybody is doing well; perhaps I need to get in on it.”
- The rational mind is slower in responding to probability than the emotional system, even if awareness of the rational mind is there.
- People are feeling calculators, pretending to be rational accountants.
- Dopamine Loops and Variable Rewards
- The concept of dopamine is one of the most misunderstood concepts on the Internet. It can be referred to as a ‘pleasure chemical,’ but a neuroscientist would call it the ‘motivation and learning signal.
The dopamine “high” is the greatest when a person is uncertain.
This is crucial.
A steady stream of rewards is very predictable and soon becomes mundane. The brain continues to look for patterns in variable rewards, making them attractive. This is a mechanism you’ll find on all websites:
- scrolling social media,
- opening notifications,
- checking messages,
- watching livestream outcomes,
- refreshing feeds,
- spinning game mechanics.
This is similar to the psychological learning principle of intermittent reinforcement, as are many of the habit-forming systems.
Occasionally, something exciting happens.
Sometimes nothing happens.
The ambiguity in and of itself helps to maintain engagement.
This is very well known to digital platforms. Random visual input, such as animated wins, real-time counters, and user interaction in the community, is more effective at keeping users engaged in the games since there are no definitive rewards.
Decision Fatigue Makes Crowd Behavior Stronger
People can’t even imagine the power of the crowd, for decision fatigue makes their behavior stronger.
The majority of users envision that they are making their own online choices. In practice, a digital environment generates huge cognitive overload.
People are assessing each day:
- headlines,
- videos,
- advertisements,
- offers,
- recommendations,
- influencers,
- comments,
- ratings,
- apps,
- games,
- promotions,
- social signals.
After being used, the brain gets tired.
This is referred to as “decision fatigue. When mental energy is low, people are more likely to take ‘short cuts’ and follow behavioral cues.
It’s among the easiest of shortcuts:
What others are doing” is an important question to ask.
This is why popularity metrics are effective. The less effort the brain needs to expend to process information, the better. The less effort the brain has to expend, the better. They help to break down decisions into a consensus of social opinion.
