It seems the tide is turning as hard-hitting news takes over gossip and celebrity culture as what the British nation have been looking out for throughout 2014.
Credit: BBC
Research from 888casino suggests that the moments creating the most anticipation and excitement this year are those of high news value instead of who's going to take home the title on The X Factor.
The top five anticipated moment of 2014 were:
- Malaysian Airline jet (34%)
- Awaiting the Scottish Referendum results (32%)
- News of Oscar Pistorious' trial (26%)
- Watching the World Cup (24%)
- Awaiting updates on the Ebola outbreak (22%)
Contrary to the hype, just 5% of those polled were excited about the launch of the iPhone 6 and only 4% cared about Kim Kardashian's nude Papermag cover shoot.
Almost a third (32%) of us look to current affairs for entertainment compared to 6% who indulge in celebrity gossip, whilst an average time of 2.25 hours a day is spent on engaging with politics and global news, compared to only an hour on celeb gossip and reality TV.
Neuroscientist Dr Jack Lewis analysed the results and provided 888casino with some insight into why real life is more engrossing than fiction.
"These days most of us have extensive experience of film, reality TV shows and drama plot lines which means the outcomes are usually much more easily predicted than real events we see in the news. Plus, there's nothing quite like a surprise when it comes to getting the prediction circuits of the brain excited! Emotional investment gradually increases as we repeatedly think about any story that is intensively covered in the news, particularly when we make our predictions of what will happen next known to others. It is the uncertainty around the possible outcomes, whether it will turn out good, bad or ugly, that triggers the hormonal roller coaster resulting in those feelings of anticipatory excitement."
The research even went as far as to find out some of the most anticipated moments for 2015.
The top five anticipated moment for 2015 are:
- UK's general election results (34%)
- The birth of Kate Middleton's second child(18%)
- Start of Wimbledon (15.5%)
- Start of the football season (15%)
- Next season of Great British Bake Off (13%)
Men polled showed a softer side with their most anticipated moment being their wedding day, compared to women who ranked that as fourth following the birth of their child, buying their first home and becoming pregnant.
Head of B2C for 888casino Itai Pazner commented on the findings: "As a leading online casino we know how important the thrill of anticipation is to our customers but we were really surprised by these results. The research findings are really interesting as we're constantly trying to delve deeper into what excites, surprises and thrills, since these feelings fundamentally lie at the heart of our customers' experience."
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