According to reports, since the beginning of 2020, cases of new coronavirus infections have broken out in various parts of the world. People’s lives are shrouded in fear, which means that people’s social activities have been significantly restricted, and people have begun to worry about themselves being infected by the virus and maintaining certainty with others. Distance, especially in winter when the virus infection rate is high, can we feel the romance of love in addition to cold and fear?
Winter nights are long and the weather is very cold. For people living in the northern hemisphere, winter is romantic and full of the power of love. Although the various celebrations in this winter are different from previous years, they have experienced festivals such as Christmas. After the hustle and bustle, people still have to comply with relevant regulations on epidemic prevention and control, take daily isolation and protection measures, minimize contact with others, wait for the arrival of spring to improve their mood, and then consider going out to socialize. This year, perhaps more serious than we have ever experienced before, while living in seclusion indoors, we must abide by local community epidemic prevention regulations. For most residents in Europe and the United States, facing the severity of the epidemic, it is essential to maintain an isolated life. of.
But do humans really need to rest and recharge in winter? If so, where does the social need come from? Perhaps the current lifestyle has made us dislike socializing in winter?
There is a modern term that can summarize people’s lifestyle in winter-“cuffing season”, which was included in the 2017 vocabulary candidate list by a dictionary, which describes this hug season phenomenon as: if you are single, You may find a new partner in early winter and maintain this relationship until spring.
In the Google search statistics of the northern hemisphere countries, interest in the hug season peaks between October and February of the following year, and then people’s interest in the hug season will gradually disappear after the summer. During this period of the year, you only need to browse the list of seasonal movies to get a virtual couple-themed romantic comedy list. One reason people like to watch romantic comedies in winter is that the coldness of the body will increase the audience’s interest in romantic movies. How much they like, and they are willing to pay for it (some viewers have already associated watching romantic movies with the feeling of warmth, so maybe you can imagine that they will get warmer when watching romantic movies), cold nights and shorter days It seems to be the romantic storyline that people want.
Our level of serotonin (a hormone that regulates mood) decreases as sunlight decreases.
Seasons have a profound effect on people’s psychology. In winter, we tend to reduce risk. During the epidemic, we reduce external contact and social communication. In winter, we wear more clothes. When we squat down, we are very clumsy, just like entering hibernation. Natural light and the artificial light we use at night are all related to seasonal affective disorder. The level of human serotonin decreases as sunlight decreases. Serotonin is a hormone that helps people regulate emotions. However, Christine Bloom and her colleagues pointed out that the use of wavelengths in the morning Shorter artificial light and the use of longer-wavelength artificial light at night will have a positive effect on our sleep patterns and mood.
But cold also has a unique effect on attractiveness. Some studies have shown that heterosexual men prefer women’s bodies in winter than in summer. Researchers propose that this view is based on the contrast effect, which describes why something unique or different from the normal Things are more attractive. In this case, it is not common for people to wear swimwear in winter, so this uniqueness makes them more attractive.
Although the cold weather may make us wrapped in thick clothes and unable to show a curvy figure, there is another reason why humans are more willing to fall in love in winter, which is entirely caused by ourselves. Winter coincides with many celebrations, such as Christmas Festival, Valentine’s Day, Chinese New Year’s Day and Spring Festival, etc.
Hug season coincides with these activities. If you have a partner, it is easier to be with them than to break up. According to Catherine Hertlein, professor of family emotions at the University of Nevada, we may feel from family, friends and the environment. The pressure, but I also think that this pressure is subconscious. As far as I know, some people don’t want to end a relationship in the hug season each year. I see more people choose to hug and love in order to avoid loneliness.
Even in addition to love relationships, Huobaoji’s dating can change our behavior.
Caranite Ben Ali, an expert on couple relations in London, United Kingdom, said: “People will evaluate their lives during the New Year and compare them with what they think they will achieve. This can lead to disappointment, failure of short-term goals, regardless of Whether we have not reached our goals or our expectations will cause us to overreact and give up thoughts. If the new year is a reminder that we have not reached the goal set 12 months ago, we may completely shelve it. It is the’indifferent effect’, when we encounter setbacks or failures, we will have a retreat mentality.”
We may realize that the date schedule in the diary is quite arbitrary, but we can hardly ignore it. If everyone else is making plans for the New Year or preparing for Valentine’s Day, it’s hard not to think about what we have achieved in these areas. progress.
Although various social phenomena about the hug season indicate that winter is a romantic season, it can also be used as a “healing time” to repair other relationships in our lives. Sally Baker, an emotional relations expert in London, said that the new crown epidemic will cause Some people reconnect with people they know, instead of trying to find new emotional connections, but too much’rekindling old relationships’ can also bring pressure.
For many people who have no choice, our Christmas and New Year celebrations this year are all carried out on the Internet. In the absence of social relationships in real life, the traditional celebrations are turned to digital methods, which is good for our happiness. Does it matter? This is a topic that Hertlein and other experts have explored and analyzed. Hertlein said that when people use social media to meet, they will not only focus on 1-2 people, but talk to many people. This will not cure your loneliness. Relevant research shows that on social media, on average, for every 10 people you don’t know but follow or are friends, one person has depression and anxiety “pain points.”
This is based on the research of Brian Primack, a professor of public health at the University of Arkansas in the United States. He said: “During the COVID-19 pandemic, the double-edged sword of social media is sharper. On the one hand, we need social media more than ever. The tools that make us feel connected when we have to maintain physical distance; on the other hand, the large amount of time we spend on social media may expose us to more risks.”
However, Hertlein said: “Abandoning online contact is not the solution. We need to change the way we share with them. People who interact with us cannot see us with their own eyes, so we feel the need to explain our feelings in detail. This makes us feel that these relationships are actually closer than we thought. Constantly explaining and describing our thoughts and feelings in detail is a more vulnerable state.”
Winter is not necessarily the season that makes great changes in our lives, but it is important to understand where the emotions that can warm the cold winter come from. At the core of our emotional cognition, we live in a model of emotional evolution. Everyone gathers together, forms a group, and lives together. Facing this cold winter, we have a strong idea in our hearts: Winter alone is not something you should experience at this time of the year!
