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Unpopular opinion: I used to think the crying in apology videos was real, but after watching that one from the pop star last week, I'm not buying it.
I started timing the pauses and realized they were exactly 2 seconds long, like someone told them to 'look sad here'. Anyone else notice that fake cry pattern?
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robert_ross952mo agoMost Upvoted
Man, you're onto something. I saw that exact same video and thought the same thing. It felt like watching a bad actor hit their marks, you know? Like they'd glance down for exactly two beats before the next tear. Once you see the pattern, you can't unsee it. Real crying just doesn't work on a schedule like that.
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shane_bell1mo agoMost Upvoted
The 2017 study from the University of California found most people can spot fake crying in under a second. It's not just the timing, it's the lack of real physical stress. Real sobs make your whole body tense up, your face gets red, you can't talk right. A performance misses all that strain, so it feels clean and empty. That's why these videos leave people feeling cold instead of moved.
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matthewwilson2mo ago
Exactly, robert_ross95, that "glance down for two beats" thing is such a tell. I read this article once where a body language expert said fake criers often look down to "find" the emotion or cue the next tear. Real crying is messy, you know? Your face does what it wants. When it's that timed, it feels like a performance. It just makes the whole story harder to believe.
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mila2782mo ago
Wow, they even timed the fake crying?
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Seriously, @mila278, the TIMING was the dead giveaway. It was like watching a clock. Look down, two seconds, look up with a fresh tear. Look down again, two seconds, another sob. Real crying is just a mess of snot and shaky breaths, it doesn't have a perfect rhythm. That video felt like someone reading stage directions.
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