It seems as if events are more tightly connected than before. The timing of things is… better. tight. Conspiracy theories reign. Is there a global pandemic of pareidolia?

I could go into conspiracy here, but I wonder – pure unfounded speculation – that if we constantly get small [[dopamine]] hits from our doomscrolling on social media and games engineered to hook us on them, and if dopamine plays a role in the recognition of patterns – non-existent ones – in (paranoid!) schizophrenia, then some of us might be susceptible to an increase in pareidolia from the frequent, small administrations of dopamine.

This is entirely out there, and most likely does not relate to reality at all, but it's a thought experiment where increased beliefes in conspiracy theories may not only be explained by sociological factors.

• Is there actually increased belief in conspiracy theories? #research
• What effect – if any – do the small hits of dopamine have on our cognition? Other than addicting us to our apps/phones.