Why do people who want to make money online, fall for scams
and crazy schemes they wouldn't even think of entertaining
in the "real" bricks and mortar world? I've seen a few
reasons offered in response to this question. A lot of
people put it down to greed and I daresay there is a fair
bit of that about. It is also suggested that many of the
people who are searching for a way to make money online are
desperate and it is sheer desperation that makes them
vulnerable. Some people blame the effectiveness of online
advertising, and a well-written sales letter can go an
awfully long way to persuading a reader to act against his
better judgment. It is sometimes suggested that people see
the Internet as a different kind of reality and that makes
them prone to doing things they would not otherwise
consider.
My personal feeling is that a combination of all those
reasons is often what makes normally sensible people
abandon reason and fall for an Internet scam or some kind
of doubtful online money making scheme. I have never
forgotten studying English Literature at university and
learning about the concept of the "willing suspense of
disbelief". That's the thing that enables us to enjoy
watching a drama or reading a novel; we know it is just a
made-up story and the characters aren't real but, in order
to get full enjoyment out of the experience, we willingly
suspend our disbelief and allow the characters and their
dramas to be real to us. This ability to suspend aspects
of the way we think is played upon by copywriters who
target people looking for ways to make money online.
If we were not willing to believe (at least for 90 minutes
or so) that the hero in the latest action movie is a real
person, we would not enjoy the movie to any great extent.
A good storyline, great scenery and impressive special
effects do not make a gripping movie. All of these things
would be wasted if we did not believe in the characters.
It is only when we care about or identify with the
characters that the movie successfully moves, interests or
excites us.
If you think about some of the greatest movies of all time,
you will know what I mean. Take Gone With The Wind: this
is only a compelling movie if we believe (for the duration
of the movie) that Scarlett O'Hara and Rhett Butler are
real people. Without that belief and consequent interest
in the fate of the characters, the storyline alone would
not inspire generations of people to watch the movie over
and over again. When you watch Jaws, you have to believe
the characters are real and are in danger of being consumed
by the (also real) shark; if you don't employ this belief,
you won't enjoy the film because there would be no
excitement in it for you. Whether you are viewing a love
story, a "person in peril" situation or a fight for justice
in a courtroom drama, the same thing applies: you must be
willing to believe in the characters for the story to have
meaning.
The human brain is a strange and complex mechanism which
allows us to "turn off" aspects of thinking which are, in
effect, integral parts of our personality. This suspense
of disbelief is what enables children to enjoy games of
imagination: if you ask a three-year old whether her teddy
bear can really talk the reply will most probably be "of
course not" but the knowledge that she is pretending, does
not remove the child's enjoyment of games where teddy
"talks" to her.
When you are looking for ways to make money online, don't
allow your disbelief to be suspended willingly; hang on to
your suspicions and cynicism, and remember the Internet is
part of our world and not a parallel virtual reality or a
movie set.
----------------------------------------------------
Elaine Currie helps people to make money online working at
home at her Free Work At Home Directory at
http://www.huntingvenus.com and is the author of Ezine
Article Writing - 10 Steps To Success. Download a copy
now and learn how to write articles for your website:
http://www.huntingvenus.com/free_ezine_articles_writing_eboo
k.shtml
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