Why do people believe absurd "inspirational" shared Facebook stories?

[carmen]

About a man who died and who's dog sleeps on his grave, or a doctor who leaves his own sons funeral to save the life of someone else's son, or a woman who "sacrificed" her own life to continue a precarious pregnancy yet survived, or a woman whoa husband wants a divorce so she makes him carry her owner the threshold for weeks until her hanged his mind, or a 3rd grade teacher who gets regular updates on a former troubled student ou to find outbid becomes a doctor and then invites her to his wedding while she wears a bravely and some old perfume he'd given her in the 3rd grade.or worse yet they want you to like or share obviously fake photos of a woman wearing a wedding gown delivering flowers to her fiancées grave or something absurd.

The stories are always poorly written, unrealistic, lack any location or date and timeframe so they are obviously fabricated, this dialogue is always akward and not consistent with how people actually speak to one another in real life, they are like soap operah lines. "Johnny, you taught me the meaning if life and love, carry me with you always". And if they have a medical theme the stories and diagnosis' don't add I up (I'm a nurse).

People eat these stories up and act as if they are real, posting that they are in tears or whatever. Why ??!! They are fake!!!!

[Crystal clear]

This is about social media and doesn't really have anything to do with mythology and folklore.

In any case, there are plenty of gullible (and lazy) people out there that believe everything they read online. I research such stories to find out if they are valid or not (which usually takes about 30 seconds), and I call people out on false stories they post claiming they're real. This doesn't usually sit well with the "friends" that posted them. (Though, while not often, a few of the popular shared ones I've seen I have found to be real stories.)

The inspirational story ones don't bother me so much. The ones that really bother me are supposedly informational but are blatantly false.

For example - the "informational" meme that was plastered all over facebook and twitter at the end of the year claiming that AAA offers a free Tipsy Tow program "nationwide" for New Year's Eve so if folks got stuck somewhere & had been drinking, they could get a safe and sober ride home and their car towed home too. The graphic urged people to share it because it could "save lives" When in fact, AAA's Tipsy Tow program is NOT Nationwide and is only available in a select few areas. I don't see how sharing false information will "save lives", and I make my view clear on that when I see people post stuff like that.


"People eat these stories up and act as if they are real, posting that they are in tears or whatever. Why ??!! They are fake!!!!" ~ People laugh, cry, etc. over fictional stories in novels, and TV shows, and movies. What's the difference? A good story is meant to entertain and move people emotionally.