Lights bright, a giant crowd of people all united by the sole purpose for arrival to this, usually unwelcoming and tiresome, place, as the background voice proclaims his final words: “Love, actually, is all around”. A 2003 film “Love Actually”, with its worldwide gross box office of 250 million dollars, star-studded cast, and 11 awards (Love Actually, 2023), is a classic representation of the audience’s hunger for a good love story – especially when there are eight of them!
The times, however, have changed. 21 years later, we no longer sport classy flip-phones or get obsessed over Eminem, yet it seems that the most drastic change occurred in our perception of romance. Today, one is always just a few taps away from a wide variety of rom-coms, romance dramas, action films, or even thrillers. The entertainment industry is almost oversaturated with riveting love stories waiting for the audience to engage with. Yet, despite the recent downfall of dating apps (Cherelus, 2024) and the majority of people under 30 returning to more old-fashioned ways like finding a partner through friends, at school, or simply connecting with them via social media (Battle, 2024), romance just doesn’t seem the same as the love stories portrayed in popular media.
So, did the famous quote simply become a motto for the entertainment providers to latch onto people’s minds? Undeniably, what we see and experience through our favourite films, TV shows, and books shapes our perception of real life. However, why is it that almost nobody listens to their older counterparts and “simply puts themselves out there”? Probably, the answers to these questions are not as unreachable as they might seem.
The “Happy Hormones”
Let us first revise the key facts about happy brain chemistry. Dopamine, or, as many might know it, “the feel-good hormone”, is a neurotransmitter associated with pleasure, reward, motivation, and motor control (Marsden, 2006). If you were to tick some tasks off your to-do list, it is likely that this neurotransmitter is doing its job of patting yourself on the back. When dopamine is released, it creates a euphoric sensation, flooding the brain with feelings of excitement, motivation, and pleasure (Dowd & Pallotta, 2000; Patterson & Hodgson, 2006), which makes you want to come back to the task you have just performed. This is also the reason dopamine is associated with addictive behaviours (Berke, 2018). Interestingly, research has shown that watching romance-centered media, such as romantic films or TV shows, can also trigger the release of dopamine in the brain, leading to a similar sense of euphoria and pleasure (Shim & Kim, 2018).
However, dopamine is not a lone wolf, its release is often associated with simultaneous work of another hormone - serotonin (Fischer & Ullsperger, 2017). Although this neurotransmitter is often called “the happy hormone”, it is associated with a far more varied list of functions, including learning and memory, digestion, wound healing, and even sexual health (Bakshi & Tadi, 2023). At the biological level, it is believed that serotonin levels relate to the bodily resources. Simply put, as long as you drink water, maintain a diverse and nutritious diet, and get a healthy amount of sleep every day, your serotonin levels should be high, allowing a better perception of happiness. If, however, one’s serotonin levels are low, this could lead not only to psychiatric disorders such as mania, anxiety, or depression, but also issues with one’s gastrointestinal tract, bone density, and many more.
Since the author’s aim is to investigate the human response to love stories, one should not forget about oxytocin. Produced by the hypothalamus, this hormone is associated with reproductive health, recognition, trust, and, most importantly for us, romantic affection (Carter & Porges, 2012). It plays an important role in both male and female bodies. Yet the far more interesting fact is that the release of oxytocin leads to an increased release later on (Clark & McKee, 2012). This feature is called a “positive feedback loop”, with most hormones (like dopamine) operating in a “negative feedback loop” where the release of a hormone is reduced following its effect on one’s body.
Finally, there is the not-so-good part that contrasts with the happy excitement, keeping us on our toes, making the subsequent surge in “happy hormones” so much intoxicating. When something goes wrong in the story or an unexpected issue comes up, the arousal and alertness we experience is explained by release of norepinephrine (aka noradrenaline)(Stanford, 2013). Whatever your favourite romance trope is, be it friends-to-lovers, arranged marriage, or soulmates, there is almost guaranteed to be that heart-wrenching moment, an obstacle that needs to be overcome by the happy couple. Despite knowing of the happy ending to come, this tingling fear persists, soon alleviated by the resolution of the conflict. And the contrast between the high and the low is what makes us come back over and over again (Deng & Chiu, 2017).
An inquisitive reader might have recognised the list of hormones above. Indeed, these hormones are often mentioned in one disposition or another in many studies addressing various addictions (King et al., 2020; Kirby et al., 2023; Marsden, 2006). There are two ways in which drugs can work. Some, like heroin or marijuana, mimic the structure of neurotransmitters, activating neurons without the need for the brain to produce the transmitters normally required for this. Others, like amphetamine or cocaine, cause the neurons to release abnormal amounts of neurotransmitters, producing the desired effect (NIH, 2007). With this in mind, the resemblance of our states post ingesting addictive substances and while staying awake until late at night binge-watching our favourite show is quite evident. In other words, romance dramas are a natural kind of drug creating an effect similar to extasy, which is believed to stimulate an increase in oxytocin, as well as affecting dopamine, serotonin, and noradrenaline (Kirkpatrick et al., 2014).
Dopamine blues
According to Dr Gloria Marks, a professor of informatics in Columbia University who specialises in digital media research, since 2012, the average attention span has decreased almost twofold (Mark, 2023). In their research, her team used various time tracking techniques to estimate people’s attention spans while, for example, writing in Microsoft Word. Their research was also supported by several replication studies which all came to a robust conclusion that the modern mean attention span is close to 47 seconds, compared to the estimated 75 seconds recorded in 2012.
It is not surprising, then, that visual-based social media platforms like TikTok have been extremely successful. The engagement model based on short videos was, at first, likely to bloom supported by the shortened attention span, yet it is becoming more evident that engagement with such platforms is starting to leave its trace on our attention spans (Chiossi et al., 2023). It turns out that our attention span is tightly related to dopamine levels. Imagine watching a two-hour-long movie. With the character development and plot setup, we sometimes find ourselves scrolling through social media - all in search for that swift dose of easy dopamine (Berke, 2018). More simply put, while we’re waiting for those hormones to kick in, we turn to a less demanding way of replenishing those rapidly decreasing dopamine levels, which just so happens to be a shift of attention.
However, what does this all have to do with our love for Bridgerton and other romance stories? Everything. Think of a classical romance drama episode: the eyes of the two characters meet over a room full of people. Our brain does a little dance and goes on to release a bit oxytocin, then spicing things up with a tad of noradrenaline when the couple finally makes first contact - physical or verbal. Eventually, there is a falling out accompanied with even more noradrenaline, and a happy resolution followed by an increase in dopamine and serotonin (Morley, 2024). The rapidly unfolding succession of events are extremely likely to trigger a response similar to the one we experience while scrolling through TikTok or Instagram Reels, making the entire experience ever so addictive. Moreover, the dopamine-norepinephrine roller-coaster also makes us come back for more again and again, making the beautiful love stories just another drug which is a lot less harmful than psychoactive substances.
Conclusion
All in all, love stories and romance dramas can be addictive due to the neurochemical responses they induce in the brain, akin to the effects of psychoactive substances. The swift alternation between emotional highs and lows experienced when engaging with these narratives, precipitated by the release of hormones such as dopamine, oxytocin, and norepinephrine, generates a 'natural drug-like' effect that compels us to repeatedly consume such content, analogous to how shortened attention spans have driven the popularity of social media platforms.
This addictive nature of romance narratives stems from their ability to trigger a cascade of neurochemical reactions that mimic the effects of recreational drugs, creating a potent and irresistible draw for audiences. Just as users of illicit substances become hooked on the rush of euphoria and the subsequent cravings, viewers of love stories find themselves perpetually enthralled by the thrill of romantic tension, the agony of heartbreak, and the ultimate satisfaction of a happy resolution. This could be why people remain so captivated by these stories, returning to them time and again in search of that same intoxicating emotional experience.
Resources
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