This summer in quarantine, I found myself wishing I could have many of the staples of summer, like hanging out with friends and visiting family, and I would imagine most students felt the same. However, I was recently reminiscing about one lost summer opportunity, one that is much less necessary than friends or family, but still very memorable: our annual visit to Six Flags: Great America. Normally, my dad would take me to the park at some point during the year, but with the parks closed and my family trying to stay safe, this was not an option.

Though, when you think about it, it seems a little strange that I would want to go. With a worldwide pandemic taking over our lives, how could I possibly look back on these times and wish I could put myself through even more fear? So, I decided to look into this a little bit and find out what makes people like me come back to theme parks for roller coasters time and time again.

Of course, many of us are familiar with the role of endorphins in our enjoyment of certain activities, but I find it very interesting to explore the reasons why we receive stimulation from things in this first place, evolutionarily speaking. As it turns out, the reasons we seek the modern-day thrill of the roller coaster actually originate from the first humans, who were constantly struggling to survive. 

As sociologist Dr. Margee Kerr, author of Scream: Chilling Adventures in the Science of Fear, explains in an interview, “The challenges we face today are not quite as risky, and they’re not as immediate. The challenges we have today are long-term, but for the majority of human history, it’s all been very present oriented, like, ‘how can I make it through this day?’”

Most of us are no longer concerned with where we will find our next meal, or protecting ourselves from threats like wild animals or weather. We have moved on to greater things, like seeking our present-day definitions of success and happiness. This, however, is a relatively recent advancement, considering that humans have been around for millions of years. Over the course of our species’ history, our brains have been trained to respond to successes related to surviving, not thriving.

For the most part, these sorts of issues no longer exist, and our long-term goal setting just doesn’t activate the same reward systems in the same way (the same reason it is often so hard to act on our self-improvement plans). Roller coasters, in essence, create a problem, and then trick our brains into thinking we solved it and made it out alive thanks to our own abilities. It’s a little ironic that we are such an advanced society that we must use the latest technology and inventions in order to satisfy our primal instincts, but this is the reason it is so fulfilling once you get off a daunting coaster.

This is exactly the reason why I look back at my times at the theme park and wish I could get that kind of experience today. As I sit in my room on Zoom classes, there are no immediate threats whatsoever, and it’s hard to find successes that really trigger a feeling of accomplishment in the brain. Even though there is plenty of danger in the world, none of it produces the same level of fear as a 100% secure roller coaster, and I can’t help but look forward to the future when it is finally safe for me to take a ride.

Works Cited:

Burt, Malcolm. “(31 Mins) Signature Attraction – A Documentary about Why Rollercoasters Exist.” YouTube, YouTube, 12 Jan. 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBrkeXusCOc.