This article was published on PsychologyToday.com in my blog "Positively Media." The big story today was the six-year old boy who was carried away in the family weather balloon. It was the ONLY story on the news radio channel during my drive home from the post office and I arrived back at my desk to find an interview request about the 'Boy in the Balloon' story. Why do we care so much about this story that we are literally hanging on every word for hours? What creates such appeal? When children are in harm's way, it triggers the nurturing parent in all of us. Most people fundamentally believe in a "just world."  Bad things aren't supposed to happen to kids. The live coverage of the balloon, the ongoing dialogue across blogs and Twitter makes this a participatory event. Humans like to engage and be part of the group. We are much more emotionally involved with things we are part of. The lack of resolution (well, until they found the boy hiding in the attic) … [Read more...]