Die NY Times hat am Donnerstag einen Artikel veröffentlicht, der das Phänomen der “Hot Or Not”-Sites näher betrachtet: wildfremde Leute schicken an Sites wie hotornot.com Photos von sich ein und lassen ihr Aussehen durch die Surfer bewerten.

“Facing the World With Egos Exposed”

But the most straightforward explanation, [Dr. Tesser, psychology professor at the University of Georgia] and others said, is that the world is crowded with people so hungry for attention that they will submit to any number of indignities for even a small bit of it.

“I see this phenomenon as an extension of the narcissism that has become much more pervasive in our culture,” Dr. Aserinsky said. “I see it especially in the under-30 crowd, where there’s this insatiable appetite for acknowledgment based largely on patterns in child-rearing that came along about the time of that generation.” He calls it the “overappreciated child,” whose every accomplishment, no matter how pedestrian, is praised as if extraordinary, if not also bronzed and placed on a pedestal.

“I’m sure these people would rather get praise, but more important is this primitive kind of need for attention,” Dr. Aserinsky said.

Machen diese Triebe und Motive nicht auch einen Teil der Bloggerei aus?