This is such an interesting question. Why do we hate watch? Or why do we hate follow people? Or why do we hate read books that we don’t really like? Why do so many of us watch things we think are bad? So they say. When we have so many shows and so little time, why are we actively sitting on the couch and just consuming things that we hate and that we are complaining about watching? The one reason the author mentions is that maybe we do it so that we can complain about it, as at happy hour. Because it’s fun to be the person to describe a particularly terrible story arc. Yeah, that feels right on some level. And then another reason might be, as they say here, at the end of an exhausting day, when I need to just distract myself from my anxieties, sniping at some new terrible show about ice skaters or lifestyle journalists or advice podcasters feels like comfort food. It gives us a sense of peace to be able to shit on these people or books or whatever that we are consuming that we don’t like or we say we don’t like. I mean, Emily in Paris is a big one the article talks about that I think many of us can relate to. So what about these shows or these books or these people that we follow on social media? Why do we hate consume them? According to this author’s thesis, And I totally agree with it. They look like something that in another world we would have liked. It’s masquerading as something made for me, but it’s rotten at its core that these shows often are plot lines that in theory, we recognize and we enjoy. They have these really good production levels, they have great outfits, they are shot in pretty places. Like, think of Emily in Paris. You could only hate what could have been great. You hate it more because it’s getting shoved at you by the algorithm. And in fact, someone else might unironically love your hate watch. Here’s the thing, and this is such a good point. To the people who make these shows, hate watching and love watching is the same thing. They are bringing the eyeballs to the shows, which is how something like Emily in Paris, which is a really, really bad show, has incredibly high ratings and gets renewed for four seasons. People are hate watching, and the network doesn’t care why someone is watching, just that they’re watching. So I’m definitely a fan of hate watching. Like, there are a couple shows that I absolutely hate watch. Um, but another perspective is obviously like, this is not worth it at all. Get rid of any low quality TV that doesn’t make you feel good. And as this person writes in the comments on that article, life is too short to waste time on something unpleasant. Find a different show or A movie. Take a nap. Cuddle a pet. Go for a walk. So where do you stand on this