Are advertisers going to infiltrate our dreams?
Makers of beers, video games, and fast food are experimenting with “targeted dream incubation,” trying to plant brand cues (sounds, visuals, scents) just as people drift off to sleep to influence what they dream. Though some scientists warn this approach could threaten privacy and mental autonomy, researchers say we’re not yet at the point where dream ads are widely effective or tightly controlled (The Hustle, 2022).
Pandemic Dreams
Pandemic Dreams draws on Dr. Barrett's survey of 9,000 dreams about the COVID-19 crisis. It describes how dreaming has reflected each aspect of the pandemic: fear of catching the virus, reactions to sheltering at home, work changes, homeschooling, and an individual's increased isolation or crowding (Oneiroi Press, 2020).
It’s in Dreams That Americans Are Making Sense of Trump
Thousands of dreams featuring Donald Trump reveal how Americans are processing fear, absurdity, and division through surreal night-time imagery. These dreams show less about Trump himself than about the nation’s attempt to make sense of a chaotic political reality (The New Yorker, 2020).