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A video of a woman screaming in fear after being duped by a fake spider has gone viral on TikTok, where it had received at least 1.9 million views at the time of writing.
The video, shared by TikTok user @lindagcm, shows a woman sitting in front of a computer in an office space. A voice in the video says: "Oh s***, look!," which sees the woman turn around and scream after spotting what appeared to be a large spider-like figure on her desk.
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She is later seen stumbling out of her chair and falling onto the floor before laughing hysterically at her own reaction.
As over-the-top as the reaction in the latest video may seem, an intense fear of spiders (known as arachnophobia) is a very real thing that affects a lot of people.
The Cleveland Clinic, a nonprofit academic medical center based in Ohio, explains: "Fear of spiders becomes a phobia when it consumes your thoughts, interferes with your daily activities and keeps you from socializing with your family and friends."
But could you be born with a natural fear of spiders?
An October 2017 study in the peer-reviewed journal Frontiers in Psychology found that humans' fear of spiders and snakes could be linked to a residual survival instinct that evolved from ancient times.
The study found that infants at six months of age "respond with increased arousal," indicated by pupil dilation in the eyes, to spiders and snakes compared with flowers and fish, suggesting "that stimuli representing an ancestral threat to humans induce a stress response in young infants."
The study concluded: "These results speak to the existence of an evolved mechanism that prepares humans to acquire specific fears of ancestral threats."
Symptoms of arachnophobia include sweating or shaking and tightness in your chest or a rapid heartbeat. The main treatment options for it include behavior therapies, along with relaxation and breathing exercises, the Cleveland Clinic says.
A June 2019 study in the peer-reviewed journal Frontiers in Psychiatry, which looked at the effects of phobic stimulus exposure (spiders/ants) within the positive context of superhero movies, showed the "reduction in phobic symptoms was significant" among those exposed to spiders/ants in the Spider-Man and Ant-Man films, compared with those in the control groups who were exposed to a "Marvel opening/natural scene."
The study found that a "seven-second exposure to insect-specific stimuli within a positive context reduces the level of phobic symptoms. Incorporating exposure to short scenes from superhero movies within a therapeutic protocol for such phobias may have the potential to be robustly efficacious and enhance cooperation and motivation."
Several TikTok users were left in stitches by the latest viral video.
In a comment that got 1,402 likes, user Rakesh said: "The only and correct way to react! [thumbs up, laughing with eyes closed, spider emojis]."
User evabirrane said: "The more I watch it the funnier it is!!! [crying laughing emojis]," while Ben Webster wrote: "The woman was too stunned to speak."
User james said: "I have never seen someone jump out of their chair so fast [crying laughing emojis]," while Sheree Bedford said: "Haha that would be me."
Newsweek has contacted the original poster for comment. The latest video hasn't been independently verified.
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