--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: social surrogacy hypothesis,” which holds…" description: "\"“social surrogacy hypothesis,” which holds that humans can use technologies, like television, to feel a sense of belonging that they're lacking in thei..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/38b/david-disalvo-3662_life_social-surrogacy-hypothesis-which-holds_1478775.jpg" --- # social surrogacy hypothesis,” which holds that humans can… ![“social surrogacy hypothesis,” which holds that humans can use technologies, like television, to feel a sense of belonging that they're lacking in their physical lives.” quote by David DiSalvo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/38b/david-disalvo-3662_life_social-surrogacy-hypothesis-which-holds_1478775.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/38b/david-disalvo-3662_life_social-surrogacy-hypothesis-which-holds_1478775.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/38b/david-disalvo-3662_life_social-surrogacy-hypothesis-which-holds_1478775.jpg) > ““social surrogacy hypothesis,” which holds that humans can use technologies, like television, to feel a sense of belonging that they're lacking in their physical lives.”” [David DiSalvo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-disalvo/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The hypothesis suggests technology can substitute real social connections, giving a false sense of belonging. **In simple terms:** Tech can mimic social belonging. Key Takeaway Be aware of tech’s limits for real connection. Themes technology belonging psychology Mood cautionary analytical Type theoretical critical When to use this quote - loneliness - remote work - digital communities - media consumption Key Concepts social surrogacy media effects virtual interaction Questions to Reflect On - What real‑world interactions can replace digital surrogacy? - How does media shape perceived community? A Different Perspective Relying on tech may deepen isolation if not balanced with real interactions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Belonging Lacking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/belonging-lacking-5384786/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Nature of man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/) [Sense Belonging](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sense-belonging-306694/) [Sense Of Belonging](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sense-of-belonging/) [Social Surrogacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social-surrogacy-5384785/) [Surrogacy Hypothesis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surrogacy-hypothesis-5384784/) [Television Feel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/television-feel-1342073/) ## Related quotes > [I've also never written about home in this way before. I guess a lot of it is subconscious and I am intuitively making these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/i-ve-also-never-written-about-home-in-this-way-before-i-guess-a-lot/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) > [“It wasn't exactly love at first sight, but it was deeper than that. A sense of belonging to a place I never knew I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikki-rowe/it-wasn-t-exactly-love-at-first-sight-but-it-was-deeper-than-that-a/) [Nikki Rowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikki-rowe/) > [Our sense of belonging can never be greater than our level of self acceptance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bren-brown/our-sense-of-belonging-can-never-be-greater-than-our-level-of-self/) [Brené Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bren-brown/) > [People who volunteer at the recycling center or soup kitchen through a church or neighborhood group can come to feel part of something 'larger.'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arlie-russell-hochschild/people-who-volunteer-at-the-recycling-center-or-soup-kitchen-through/) [Arlie Russell Hochschild](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arlie-russell-hochschild/) > [People will typically be more enthusiastic where they feel a sense of belonging and see themselves as part of a community than they will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfie-kohn/people-will-typically-be-more-enthusiastic-where-they-feel-a-sense-of/) [Alfie Kohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfie-kohn/) > [I had never had a deep sense of belonging anywhere. I always felt I was an outsider.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chirlane-mccray/i-had-never-had-a-deep-sense-of-belonging-anywhere-i-always-felt-i/) [Chirlane McCray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chirlane-mccray/) > [THE POWER OF THE GROUP We all want to feel a sense of belonging. This isn’t a character flaw. It’s fundamental to the human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosalind-wiseman/the-power-of-the-group-we-all-want-to-feel-a-sense-of-belonging-this/) [Rosalind Wiseman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosalind-wiseman/) > [“One of the most difficult of all things to endure for a crow, a raven, a wolf, or a human is to feel alone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-kilham/one-of-the-most-difficult-of-all-things-to-endure-for-a-crow-a-raven/) [Lawrence Kilham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-kilham/) > [The sense of belonging is one of the great gifts men get in battle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-michener/the-sense-of-belonging-is-one-of-the-great-gifts-men-get-in-battle/) [James A. Michener](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-michener/) > [The best of community does give one a deep sense of belonging and well-being; and in that sense community takes away loneliness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-nouwen/the-best-of-community-does-give-one-a-deep-sense-of-belonging-and/) [Henri Nouwen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-nouwen/) > [I'm trying to make a case for those people who don't have a sense of belonging that they should have, that there is something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-bragg/i-m-trying-to-make-a-case-for-those-people-who-don-t-have-a-sense-of/) [Billy Bragg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-bragg/) > [The dynamism of any diverse community depends not only on the diversity itself but on promoting a sense of belonging among those who formerly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-dynamism-of-any-diverse-community-depends-not-only-on-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When you're guest-starring, it's very nice, but you're there very briefly, and it's right there in the name: You're a guest. It's very hard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zeljko-ivanek/when-you-re-guest-starring-it-s-very-nice-but-you-re-there-very/) [Zeljko Ivanek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zeljko-ivanek/) > [Faith is a quality of being: of being in touch with oneself, with life, and with the universe. It is a sense of belonging…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-lowen/faith-is-a-quality-of-being-of-being-in-touch-with-oneself-with-life/) [Alexander Lowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-lowen/) > [“You are my home; it is in your loving gaze that I find the comfort, acceptance, and the sense of belonging.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-maraboli/you-are-my-home-it-is-in-your-loving-gaze-that-i-find-the-comfort/) [Steve Maraboli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-maraboli/) ## More by David DiSalvo > [“The flip side of this reality is that our big brains, advanced as they are, come with an array of complex shortcomings and are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-disalvo/the-flip-side-of-this-reality-is-that-our-big-brains-advanced-as-they/) [David DiSalvo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-disalvo/) > [“Participants who anticipated more rapid feedback scored the highest on the test.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-disalvo/participants-who-anticipated-more-rapid-feedback-scored-the-highest/) [David DiSalvo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-disalvo/) > [“The best way to think of how our brains frame information is to imagine a picture frame, except unlike a normal frame, this one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-disalvo/the-best-way-to-think-of-how-our-brains-frame-information-is-to/) [David DiSalvo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-disalvo/) > [“the amPFC and PCC were shown to play a large role in self-referential thinking and autobiographical memory (essentially, the “me” part of your brain).”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-disalvo/the-ampfc-and-pcc-were-shown-to-play-a-large-role-in-self-referential/) [David DiSalvo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-disalvo/) > [“those who ask themselves whether they will perform a task generally do better than those who tell themselves that they will.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-disalvo/those-who-ask-themselves-whether-they-will-perform-a-task-generally/) [David DiSalvo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-disalvo/) > [“words, for our brains, reality equals relevance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-disalvo/words-for-our-brains-reality-equals-relevance/) [David DiSalvo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-disalvo/) > [“In German, bridge (die brucke) is a feminine noun; in Spanish, bridge (el puente) is a masculine noun. Boroditsky found that when asked to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-disalvo/in-german-bridge-die-brucke-is-a-feminine-noun-in-spanish-bridge-el/) [David DiSalvo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-disalvo/) > [“selective attention,” also called “selectivity bias”—the tendency to orient oneself toward and process information from only one part of our environment to the exclusion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-disalvo/selective-attention-also-called-selectivity-bias-the-tendency-to/) [David DiSalvo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-disalvo/) > [“great deal of “green” marketing is predicated on the assumption that people will buy a green product to make themselves feel better about moral…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-disalvo/great-deal-of-green-marketing-is-predicated-on-the-assumption-that/) [David DiSalvo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-disalvo/) > [“appears that our first instinct is for idleness, but when given an excuse to be busy (even a meaningless one), we're liable to act…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-disalvo/appears-that-our-first-instinct-is-for-idleness-but-when-given-an/) [David DiSalvo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-disalvo/) > [“The reason that persuasive messages are short, pithy, and digestible in seconds is that we process them so quickly that they become familiar without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-disalvo/the-reason-that-persuasive-messages-are-short-pithy-and-digestible-in/) [David DiSalvo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-disalvo/) > [“schema (singular form of schemata) is like a mental map of concepts that hangs together by association.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-disalvo/schema-singular-form-of-schemata-is-like-a-mental-map-of-concepts/) [David DiSalvo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-disalvo/) > [“Specifically, a web of neurons—dubbed the “default network”—spanning three brain regions (the medial prefrontal cortex, the posterior cingulate cortex, and the parietal cortex) are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-disalvo/specifically-a-web-of-neurons-dubbed-the-default-network-spanning/) [David DiSalvo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-disalvo/) > [“it's always on in the background but only takes first chair in our brains when we're not focused on anything in particular.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-disalvo/it-s-always-on-in-the-background-but-only-takes-first-chair-in-our/) [David DiSalvo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-disalvo/) > [“Our expectations for what we should be able to recall are hardly in line with what our brains are capable of processing—which, by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-disalvo/our-expectations-for-what-we-should-be-able-to-recall-are-hardly-in/) [David DiSalvo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-disalvo/) [Explore all 125 David DiSalvo quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-disalvo/) ## More Life quotes > [Of all the people who have affected my life and influenced the choices I've made, none has been more important than my father. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teddy-atlas/of-all-the-people-who-have-affected-my-life-and-influenced-the/) [Teddy Atlas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teddy-atlas/) > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life works most perfectly when a reciprocal love relationship is in place between man and God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-moore/life-works-most-perfectly-when-a-reciprocal-love-relationship-is-in/) [Beth Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-moore/) > [I value the experiences that come with life too much to sit by and not put my full effort into them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-miller/i-value-the-experiences-that-come-with-life-too-much-to-sit-by-and/) [Jim Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-miller/) > [Entertainment is a sacred pursuit when done well. When done well, it raises the quality of human life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/entertainment-is-a-sacred-pursuit-when-done-well-when-done-well-it/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [“There's more to life than you can see. Your sight is limited.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tammy-kling/there-s-more-to-life-than-you-can-see-your-sight-is-limited/) [Tammy Kling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tammy-kling/) > [“I've spent much of my life calling my intuition "something wrong with me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deanna-l-lawlis/i-ve-spent-much-of-my-life-calling-my-intuition-something-wrong-with/) [Deanna L. Lawlis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deanna-l-lawlis/) > [When you do things they're absolutely right at that time for you and it can always teach you something about yourself. You can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kym-marsh/when-you-do-things-they-re-absolutely-right-at-that-time-for-you-and/) [Kym Marsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kym-marsh/) > [The only people who think the Internet is a calamity are people whose lives have been hurt by it; the only people who insist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/the-only-people-who-think-the-internet-is-a-calamity-are-people-whose/) [Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/) > [The one thing that I keep learning over and over again is that I don't know nothing. I mean, that's my life lesson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwayne-johnson/the-one-thing-that-i-keep-learning-over-and-over-again-is-that-i-don/) [Dwayne Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwayne-johnson/) > [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The future is only an indifferent void no one cares about, but the past is filled with life, and its countenance is irritating, repellent,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/the-future-is-only-an-indifferent-void-no-one-cares-about-but-the/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [Two things revolutionised life: moving to the countryside and falling in love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-love/two-things-revolutionised-life-moving-to-the-countryside-and-falling/) [Nick Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-love/) > [But just remember, life without me would be even more unbearable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/but-just-remember-life-without-me-would-be-even-more-unbearable/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) [Browse all 265,290 Life quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“social surrogacy hypothesis,” which holds that humans can use technologies, like television, to feel a sense of belonging that they're lacking in their physical lives.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David DiSalvo" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-disalvo/social-surrogacy-hypothesis-which-holds-that-humans-can-use/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Life" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-disalvo/social-surrogacy-hypothesis-which-holds-that-humans-can-use/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/38b/david-disalvo-3662_life_social-surrogacy-hypothesis-which-holds_1478775.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/38b/david-disalvo-3662_life_social-surrogacy-hypothesis-which-holds_1478775.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/38b/david-disalvo-3662_life_social-surrogacy-hypothesis-which-holds_1478775.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“social surrogacy hypothesis,” which holds that humans can use technologies, like television, to feel a sense…” — David DiSalvo", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "David DiSalvo", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-disalvo/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“social surrogacy hypothesis,” which holds that...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-disalvo/social-surrogacy-hypothesis-which-holds-that-humans-can-use/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-disalvo/social-surrogacy-hypothesis-which-holds-that-humans-can-use/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```