Jay Van Bevel

Jay, what do you hear when you hear these fans singing about wanting to become Muslims themselves?

When I have been in a low, heavy, or icky mood for several days in a row, I begin to seek out stories about dark human psychologists involving murder or other gruesome events.

Once I start, I find it really hard to stop wanting more of them.

While I'm observed in those stories, I may forget the bad feelings I had been feeling, and momentarily I might feel even better.

But what I noticed is that short time later, I'd feel worse than when I had started.

Not only those dark stories seemed to have dragged my mood further down,

There is also a sense of guilt and shame that I had allowed myself to fall into this rabbit hole.

It is quite similar to what I experienced with eating junk foods.

I would have a craving for certain types of foods when I am in a bad mood, and those foods make me feel good only for a short time, but make me feel worse physically or emotionally sooner or later.

Because of this similar behavior, I started calling those media content involving dark stories mental junk food.