Grim.
According to a study by the London School of Economics, watching Keeping Up With the Kardashians for as little as 60 seconds can make you a worse person by reducing your sympathy for the poor.
Research from LSE found that exposure to shows that “glamorise fame, luxury, and wealth accumulation” may bring about anti-welfare and materialistic sentiments, according to the Telegraph.
The test was conducted as follows: Two control groups, 487 adults in total, were shown media. One group was shown ads for luxury products and photos of rich celebrities, and the other neutral images about things like public transport and natural scenery.
Results showed that even a small amount of exposure to hyper-materialistic media had a negative impact on the subjects, who showed an increase in both anti-welfare attitudes and support for anti-welfare policies.
Participants were also quizzed about their viewing habits and how often they watch “materialistic” programmes such as the Kardashians. Regular viewers were found to exhibit “stronger materialistic and anti-welfare attitudes than lighter consumers of these shows.”
“Humans are inherently materialistic but also very social and communal,” explained study author Dr. Rodolfo Leyva of LSE’s Department of Media and Communications department.
“The way this is expressed depends on our culture. If there is more emphasis on materialism as a way to be happy, this makes us more inclined to be selfish and anti-social, and therefore unsympathetic to people less fortunate.”
May need to keep that in mind next time we’re looking for something to binge.
