This story has nothing to do with technology, and I hope it will never have anything to do with our near future:

Residents of the Russian city of Ekaterinburg (the Ural region) find thrillers rather amusing – they do not scream with horror, but laugh instead. On certain occurrences, people may laugh even hysterically.

According to psychotherapists, this reaction has an explanation. “Laughter during a horror movie is a reaction of protection. An individual does not allow himself to experience the state of fear. In other words, people are afraid of being afraid,” said doctor Tamara Krichevskaya. “This behavior shows that people have to deal with a lot of fear in their everyday lives. That is why they try to depreciate it in the movie life.”

They do not exclude that Russian cinemas will be filled with viewers laughing at thrillers after recent air crashes and other terrorist acts in the country. However, the doctor added, the rejection of fear at the movies is not a prompt reaction at all: horror movies are made to help people release stress and fear.

From Pravda.