Hate Watching and Guilty Pleasures Are Bad For You

I am here to tell you that hate watching things, and having guilty pleasures, is doing you harm. But before I explain I need to define some terms so we’re on the same page.

Hate watching is when you watch something you actively dislike, knowing you dislike it. It isn’t watching something bad that you enjoy, or find fun, or funny.

Guilty pleasures are things you do enjoy, but feel like you shouldn’t find them enjoyable at all.

Now that that’s out of the way:

Why would you hate watch something? Think about it. You’re going to spend hours ingesting something, some form of media, that you don’t like at all. Again this isn’t something you enjoy, so why are you doing it? To dunk on it later? Fuck.

We only have so many hours on this Earth and you want to waste a bunch of yours so you can be petty and score snarky points about something? That’s a good use of your time alive? Really?

We don’t always know we won’t like something going in, that’s fair and fine! But once you know you don’t like it why keep going? There are a few valid reasons, like hoping a show gets better, but even then there are only so many hours and days left, maybe give it two or three episodes and then find something else.

If you’re truly not enjoying it, what are you getting out of the experience, honestly? Just stop.

As for guilty pleasures they tend to be things that we do enjoy but feel we shouldn’t so we wrap them up in excuses. Oh you like that type of show but feel it’s bad, or dumb, or whatever? And yet you still enjoy it?

Then enjoy it.

Sometimes we label things as guilty pleasures when they’re problematic. But we all like problematic things, partly because basically nothing is fully pure in this world, but partly because humans can hold complex contradictions easily. The trick is to admit the problematic parts, and weigh them against the parts you enjoy. Everyone’s line is different and you need to decide for yourself if something is so problematic you should throw it away.

But assuming you shouldn’t:  Just admit it is problematic, stare the issues in the face, and don’t try to deny them. Then enjoy the parts you enjoy. It’s all right.

Outside of the problematic aspect, I’ve noticed people label things as their guilty pleasure because the people around them think a thing isn’t good or worth enjoying. And dang, if that’s true, find better people.

Don’t feel guilty you like reality TV, or some bad, silly, movie. Just enjoy them. You don’t have to defend it to anyone, except yourself. Stop feeling guilt about it. It just gives you a complex and lessens your own enjoyment, plus it can often stop you from finding other similar things you will enjoy.

So yeah, that’s it. Stop watching things you don’t like and stop feeling bad about watching things you do like. Just like what you like, and enjoy it. It really can be that easy.