New local documentary

Last week we found out about a new short documentary that has been produced - Believing is Seeing.

The documentary was made by Loading Docs, who we've featured before, having made a short documentary about Siouxsie Wiles at the beginning of the Covid pandemic.

Doctors have recently identified a concerning trend among young people: tic disorders potentially spread via TikTok videos. The documentary deals with the rise of so-called 'Tik Tok tics' and the theory that they are caused by the spread of a mass psychogenic illness via social media. Sociologist, mass psychogenic, and social panic researcher Dr Robert Bartholomew - a long time friend of NZ Skeptics - wrote papers on this phenomenon at the beginning of the pandemic.

For sociologist Dr Bartholomew, the trend isn't surprising, but the potential consequences are alarming. The documentary asks whether the global scope of social media means we are on the precipice of the world's largest outbreak of psychogenic illness.

The documentary is a fun short (10 minute) watch, and can be viewed via the Loading Docs website or on YouTube.