A 'Bear-y' Good Audience
Why did teddy bears replace people at the height of quarantine???
Weeks after cities shut down, we saw how teachers and healthcare workers stepped up to the plate and for that we applauded them every night for months! But there was another player who stepped up: the humble teddy bear. From the teddy bear hunt that was a nationwide phenomenon, to amusement parks and stadiums using teddy bears as their “audience”, our furry friends were there to fill in the blanks when no one else could! Why? Because teddy bears have been a traditionally safe way for us to find companionship. You can read more about the psychological reasons we grow so attached to stuffed animals here. Because we are already attached to them, it is no surprise as to why we found ways to bring our furry friends back into our lives during periods of high stress, and possibly traumatic experiences, like those we are facing right now.
Where and Why?
Teddy bears have been making an entrance all over the world since the beginning of the pandemic! While the U.S. is slowly starting to reopen state by state, economically exasperated countries across the world have decided it’s time to re-open. However, this isn’t without precautions; sports and arts events are still cancelled, and restaurants are confined to outdoor dining with 25% capacity. Even before the reopening, teddy bears popped up, from a baseball team in Korea, to the nationwide teddy bear hunt. As the world begins to re-open, teddy bears are showing up in cafes in Paris, restaurants in Bangkok, even an amusement park in the Netherlands! Nations around the world are encouraging and ensuring their patrons social distance not by keeping tables empty, but by filling them with friendly teddy bears! Even auditoriums during empty sports events, such as the one in Korea, filled empty seats with teddy bears to ensure players were not alone. Why? Because as social beings, we respond to companionship, be it romantic, friendly, familial, etc. Our peers, and audience in this case, are key to giving our best performance. In this study, it’s found that the social part of our brains is always active, and directly influences our motor and action skills. Meaning, our brain actually allows us to perform best under pressure! What about those who often choke under pressure? That’s not because they’re not getting this boost, but because they are unable to focus on the task, and too distracted by the nerves that we experience under pressure. Even though those teddy bears aren’t people, they help give the impression of people. And if you trick the brain with them, you can perform just as well as you would have with a crowd of millions!
What about the bistro bears?
Although the teddy bears we’re seeing pop up at cafes, restaurants and bistros around the world may not have anything to do with the crowd mentality, they do still serve a purpose. When teddy bears rose to popularity in the early 20th century, (read more about that here) they became a symbol for children and adults everywhere of companionship and comfort. Teddy bears are great transitional objects, because they offer companionship. And in times where we are denied this in-person companionship that we naturally crave so much it’s natural to return to teddy bears. Yes, they enforce social distancing by making sure no two tables are put together, but think about the glass half full and empty question. Would you rather have one half empty dining room, one half full dining room, or one entirely full dining room: with teddy bears?
Share your teddy bear quarantine experiences with us @beargivers on Instagram, Facebook and info@beargivers.org!