What the fuck is trypophobia?
Trypophobia is a feeling of disgust or fear induced by observing clusters of usually innocuous objects, often small holes. Symptoms may include goosebumps, revulsion, sweating, nausea, body shakes, and even panic attacks, and common triggers include bubbles, sponges, strawberries, and, apparently the iPhone 11.
The iPhone 11? Is that why people are people talking about this?
I’m not sure anyone is actually talking about it, but they are definitely tweeting about it, and, yes, the reason this has become a topic of internet conversation is because of the iPhone 11 Pro and Pro Max, which were announced Tuesday by Apple. These models, which retail for $999 and $1449 respectively, have three camera lenses on the back, and while three camera lenses might be good for shooting landscapes, they are also, according to a number of people online, triggering to sufferers of trypophobia.
if this is real, people with trypophobia are going to have a rough time #AppleEvent pic.twitter.com/LWPJQA83Z8
— jo (@hannesmai_er) September 10, 2019
Uh, okay. Is this legit or is it just another thing for people without real problems to bitch about?
Depends on your definition of “legit.” Trypophobia is not currently a recognized phobia in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, but there is a fair amount of scholarly literature on this subject arguing that it should be included. Then again, there’s a fair amount of scholarly literature arguing that the Bible is literally true so many take that with many clusters of salt.
What causes this so-called phobia?
Great question! Thanks for asking. According to the abstract of this paper I refuse to pay for, it’s unclear. There are, however, some theories rooted in evolutionary psychology, and the idea is that it’s a survival mechanism gone wrong. Back before iPhones roamed the Earth, it may have benefited humans to have an aversion to, for instance, diseased flesh, which often leads to the emergence of small, circular clusters on the skin. Just picture a rash. “Consistent with this explanation,” according to the paper I’m not going to download, “individuals with trypophobia, as well as comparison individuals, reported aversion towards disease-relevant cluster stimuli, but only the trypophobic group reported aversion towards objectively harmless cluster stimuli that had no relevance to disease.”
Weird! Is there any treatment?
Beta-blockers and anti-anxiety medication have been shown to tamp down the panic response in an array of phobias, but, as with many fears, exposure therapy may be the most effective way to actually get over this fear instead of just treating the symptoms. It sucks, I know, but for sufferers of trypophobia, avoiding the thing that triggers you will just prolong the fear indefinitely. And while I cannot in good conscience recommend the iPhone 11 or any other thousand-dollar device that lacks a headphone jack, the best treatment for those who suffer from trypophobia may very well be to eat strawberries and take bubble baths.
