Validation/invalidation
How many times has it happened that you were looking to others to know what you feel? To know what to think? To know how to react?
The laugh-track machines are used exactly for that reason: people who have no sense of self, they will take cue, and laugh when the machine laughs.
Because we never really got present to who we are, what we hold true, what is important to us, because we were indoctrinated early on to think, feel, hold true, and say yes to what other people wanted us to, and because the reward was attention, food, hugs, atta’ girl, or nice gifts, we lost and dug under our natural likes and dislikes, our natural aspirations, our real feelings.
We toed the line of “me-too’s” and mimicked, parroted, and tried to feel what they felt.