What are subliminals?
Thanks for asking. If you listen to some people out there, they'll tell you you can improve your self -esteem, change your eye colour, or even become a mermaid simply by viewing or listening to certain clips on YouTube.
Sounds far -fetched, right?
Well, the idea is based on subliminal messaging, so let's discuss how realistic it is.
What are these clips actually like, then?
It's important to distinguish between audio and visual subliminals.
The former often feature unintelligible jabbering, sometimes overshadowed by random ambient music.
The extract you can hear in the background comes from a Mark Reynolds clip entitled Make Him Unblock You on social media.
Meanwhile, visual subliminals tend to rapidly flash positive affirmations on screen repeatedly.
Certain cues are heard or appear very briefly, like words, pictures, or symbols for example.
The idea is that these stimulate the brain below the threshold of consciousness and have a positive impact on thoughts and behaviour.
Okay, positive thoughts sound somewhat plausible at least, but how can you expect to get physical changes from an audio or video clip?
Indeed, that's how most people react when hearing about subliminals, but there is a significant community out there, which has been steadily growing in recent years.
Despite the nature of the claims, you'll find many positive reviews on YouTube subliminals, most of which seem genuine in tone, as opposed to being troll posts.
And there are dedicated threads on Reddit, Facebook and Instagram too, where users discuss the results they've achieved through listening to such clips.
Akuo subliminals is one of the most popular sub channels on YouTube.
At the time of recording, he had over 175 ,000 subscribers and over 60 million views.
His most popular videos are Grow Taller in 10 Minutes and Change Your Eye Colour to Sea Green.
Members of the subliminals community believe anything is possible if you are truly dedicated to your goal, even altering human DNA or physics.
What does science have to say on the matter?
Believers talk about the law of attraction to explain how subliminals work.
That suggests that as long as the brain can see something as a fact, it can become reality.
But in reality, it's a pseudoscience, and proponents simply handpick theories from psychology, evolutionary biology and neuroscience to back up their belief.
There's no real scientific basis for the law of attraction.
Subliminal messaging is nothing new really, with the most prominent example dating back to 1957.
American market researcher James Vickery claimed to have increased sales of Coca Cola and popcorn at cinemas by 18 and 57 % respectively.
That was simply by repeatedly flashing words on screen during the film for one three thousandth of a second at a time.
But a few years later, Vickery withdrew his claims, admitting there was too little research to actually back them up.
Furthermore, there was public outrage due to the intrusive and sneaky nature of the messages.
At least in the 21st century, people are using subliminals by choice.
Well that's true, but they still seem to be targeting and perhaps even exacerbating people's insecurities.
What's more, subliminals can get dark too.
A few years ago, prominent creator Mind Power was shut down from YouTube after viewers claimed her videos led to demonic and sexual nightmares, as well as harmful thoughts and depression.
Studies have shown that positive affirmations and music can reduce stress and improve morale.
But there's no evidence to show that subliminals are useful for other health or wellness applications, especially not biohacking your way to a desired appearance.
There you have it. Now you know what subliminals are.
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