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Someone Asks “What Are You Convinced People Are Pretending To Enjoy?” And 35 People Answer
Trends come and go, and most people want to feel included in them, which probably results in a lot of them pretending to like something just to fit in. It seems that whenever you don't like something that's very popular you're met with "what?!" or just get labeled as a hipster. So this Redditor decided to ask an important and fun question: "What are you convinced people are pretending to enjoy?"
People were quick to jump in and give their honest answers. Some named some really popular things that a lot of people seem to like, while some named some more peculiar and specific ones. If you have an answer yourself, feel free to share it in the comment section below! And if you liked this post, click here for a similar one.
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#1
Nothing. People legitimately have different tastes. Just let people enjoy their IPAs/gin/pickles/spicy food/whatever. If that's not your thing, have something else.
RELATED:
#2
The Kardashians.
The Idaho Potato 2 years ago
I'd rather watch paint dry. At least you can see the texture of the paint change, and the little drippy bulbs run down the wall.
We asked Patrice Oppliger, Ph.D., some questions about this topic, and she gave some amazing insights: "I agree there are significant social pressures. One of the theories we teach is the theory of reasoned action - that it appears someone's attitude does not match their behaviors; however, there is a social norm element.
I think people often 'fake it until they make it' or are simply giving something a try. I recall not caring for Schitt's Creek initially. Everyone kept telling me to stick with it. It's one of my all-time favorite shows."
#3
Bars and restaurants with loud music and terrible acoustics. What’s the point in being social in a place where they’re trying to make it hard for you to socialize?
General Anaesthesia 2 years ago
Somehow I have a hard time thinking a packed club/bar/restaurant is full of people pretending to enjoy themselves. It's not for me, but as they say, "different strokes for different folks".
"There is also cognitive dissonance at play. When one invests time and energy into a hobby, for example, they may convince themselves they enjoy it because if not, they are inconsistent and have wasted time."
#5
Reality TV. How is watching garbage people complain about their lives entertainment?
#6
Those big spider-leg eyelashes they pay for and put on.
April Caron 2 years ago
There’s a part in a Christopher Moore book where he refers to one of his characters batting her eyelashes like “a convulsing wolf spider” and this is why I love his work. 😂
"It's generally benign to pretend to like something. The individual may not want to offend others who genuinely like it, or it is something that connects them to others. We all have the desire to fit in. It's a survival tactic. Where there may be some harm is if the activity is hurting others - something that includes racism or sexism, for example.
In my study of humor (The Dark Side of Stand-Up Comedy: Oppliger & Shouse, 2020, Palgrave), I find that laughing at a joke may appear to signal enjoyment - but it could also be politeness, discomfort, or peer pressure. For example, Will Smith's facial expression appeared to signal his enjoyment of Chris Rock's joke about Smith's wife."
#7
3 hour long church services. Jesus gave the sermon on the mound in like 5 minutes. Get over your ego pastor!
#8
The Happy Birthday song. Everyone feels awkward singing it, and awkward having it sung at them. Can we please just not?
The Idaho Potato 2 years ago
I refuse to allow people to sing me happy birthday. It's one of the reasons why I gave up birthdays (a bit overkill, sure).
#9
Long-a*s, boring videos of their friends' kids.
Andy James 2 years ago
Holiday videos... ,"And here's my big toe on the beach in Malta", looks at you in excited expectation of your glowing appraisal.. boring as F.
#10
Reaction videos. Why would anyone care how a stranger reacts to something? Most of the time, the reaction isn't even real and just played up for the camera.
#11
Live action remakes
Katherine Mulholland 2 years ago
The first Jungle Book film was live action in 1942 starring Sabu. The cartoon was the remake.
#12
Open relationships. I'm sure there's some genuine believers but I wonder how many partners are opening up their relationship to keep their partner and just are afraid to be alone and date again. When I see couples talk about it it always looks like one person is way more into it than the other.
#13
Having constant drama at work, in friend groups, and elsewhere really can't be all that exciting... can it? If I have one friend causing me too much drama I usually avoid it like it's the plague.
#14
Podcasts where the hosts just laugh at everything they/other hosts/guests say. Nothing is that funny for that long, dude.
#15
Clubbing. It's loud, there's 50 people all up in your space constantly, the music sucks half the time, the alcohol is watered down, there's so many drunk people that have to be either carried out or they puke all over the sidewalk outside, everything is overpriced. Literally nothing about it is good enough to warrant doing it repeatedly.
Susie Elle 2 years ago
Same, it's weird how that changes. I used to love going out to clubs, but now you would have to force me.
#16
LinkedIn.
censorshipsucks 2 years ago
I'm honoured and humbled to have had this great new opportunity to comment on this post! It has really made my career trajectory worthwhile!
#17
Twitter.
I can't comprehend why anyone would WANT to "tweet"
VonBlade 2 years ago
I love shouting into the void (aka tweeting). It's a great way of getting stuff nobody cares about off your chest without boring my SO. In the case of this particular example, someone bemoaning twitter who is posting on reddit is like moaning about fast food when in McDonalds.
#18
Trying to make everything Instagram ready.
I've fallen in that trap before, deleted everything but Reddit.
I'm much happier now living in the moment, watching my kids play instead of taking photos of them, eating my food instead of standing above it trying to take a picture in a crowded restaurant.
Once you stop feeding your ego, a lot of worry stops with it.
Aika Akira 2 years ago
As someone who doesn’t have baby pictures, or pictures of myself younger. I take a lot of pictures of my kids, however I don’t post it on Instagram. I think it’s kinda dangerous to really put pictures out of your kids and they’re too young to consent having their photos everywhere.
#19
Abstract modern art. You know, the orange square on a blank canvas type thing. “It really speaks to me.” 🤨
Enuya 2 years ago
If it speaks to you, either your dealer is really good or you should change your pharmacist/doctor.
Lea S. 2 years ago
Or people have different tastes in art, and we should just let them enjoy what they want.
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Philly Bob 2 years ago
I painted a big blue rectangle in my back yard so that people looking from Google earth think I have a big swimming pool.
Bluetoyou 2 years ago
Orange square on a canvas is minimalist art not abstract. Breaking a real object down to it's base lines and elements. Abstract takes an object or scene and distorts or abstracts it from its true form. Most modern art is exploring techniques that have not been done before so they end up in museums because that artist was the first to come up with that idea. But I get it. Some is just shock appeal or maybe they were really high. No telling. I saw some stuff at the Ft. Worth Modern that I just shook my head at and walked away. Stuff I saw kids doing in art class in college. A wide molding picture frame with green paint wide brushed across the canvas and the frame. All drippy. And then there was the letter I out of a wood ceiling beam scrap sitting on the ground with a guard saying "Don't touch the letter" nearby.....not my taste.
Susie Elle 2 years ago
Also in my opinion, their art required actual skill to produce, as in knowing how light falls on and reflects from objects, how perspective works and how paint behaves on a surface. Aside form actually being able to paint/draw.
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Bored Retsuko 2 years ago
Art is not (always) meant to be "pretty", you know. It represents the artists' thought process.
Howard McEachron 2 years ago
When will this may be very unartistic But some of the porn, painting, swinging paint things are just a waste of paint. It would be much more artistic, if artists swung from their own rope.
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Laura Tasciato 2 years ago
I gonna go out on a limb and say that the person that wrote this isn't an artist.
Mary Kelly 2 years ago
love rothko...also pollock, miro...even love the more modern modern, e.g., murakami, poons, koons, shinohara...don't care for warhol or most pop art...was over the impressionists when i stopped being a teenage girl...people like what they like...it's no more or less valid b/c someone else doesn't like it...well, unless we are talking about reality tv -- that's just stupid
Gavin Johnson 2 years ago
Was lucky enough to see a Dali exhibition in Venice when I was in my mid-teens. I stood looking at a magical, messed up image that seemed to have nothing recognisable on it but it was interesting, some random woman strolled up and said to her husband ‘I get this, you can really understand what he was thinking’…. I actually wanted to be brave enough to ask what drugs she was on 😂
Spooky Scary Skeletons 2 years ago
You know who else hated abstract modern art? https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/degenerate-art-1
Tinderella 2 years ago
To me, there’s no better art. I can’t describe how much I love abstract modern art.
RobotMonkeyGod 2 years ago
it has it's place and it's relevance. if you don't like it- that's okay- move along and find something you do...
#20
American talent shows like quite literally “America’s got talent”, and “American Idol”. Who the f**k are these shows catered to? The dialogue is cheesy, idiotic, and fake as f**k and the structure doesn’t make sense. Back then it had categories and the contestants would compete against their own groups which at least made it somewhat interesting. Now? Anything f*****g goes, and you could have a wanna-be jabawacky dance group of about 20 people Vs little Timmy playing a harmonica with his a*****e. It makes no god damn sense.
#21
Anything that requires an insane amount of waiting in line. Amusement parks, brunches at fancy places, night clubs, etc.
Like, you're engaging in an a barrier to make the "thing" you want seem worthwhile.
I dunno, I despise lines.
Ches Yamada 2 years ago
I'm not sure this person understands how lines work. They're not there to be a barrier between you to make something worthwhile, they're there because the venue isn't ready yet/there's not enough room for hundreds of people to get on a ride at the same time. Right?
#23
Kombucha. Every, single one I've tried. Just undrinkable!
Marco Richter 2 years ago
I actually like Kombucha very much and I don't get the hatred for it online. Maybe people expect something like Soda from it and treat as such.
#24
Getting black out drunk
#25
A lot of popular modern rap music. There’s a lot of good stuff but there’s some where I’m like “seriously?”
#27
Insanely spicy food.... stop it. You're crying and there is no way you are enjoying that for any other reason except to brag about how hot your food is.
#28
Being forced to keep the economy going in spite of rising costs and lower incomes.
#29
Surströmming. There is absolutely no way people in Sweden actually enjoy this can of puke.
Edit: As people are telling stories about their experiences with Surströmming I want to tell one of my own.
Once upon a time in Sweden, a mild summer in august, my family decided to host a dinner at our house for our friends. We had a lot of food of different kinds on the table and our friends brought some food with them as well. The weather was with us so we decided to eat on the porch outside. As we were getting ready to eat we decided it was time to open the cans…oh god! What occurred after have been stuck in my head for ages.
First came the smell, some of us almost puked, others kept their stoic faces on. But the craziest ones of us took a deep breath and said: “delicious”.
Shortly after, the invasion started. Hundreds upon hundreds of flies. There was chaos, crying, despair and my father screaming: “we have to get away from here.” We all grabbed what we could take and ran inside. Watched trough the windows as a cloud of flies descended upon the rest.
*heavy sigh*! aah yes, Sweden!
Philly Bob 2 years ago
Open it outside... the can pops and it smells like the alien death of a thousand crabs on a hot summers day. I'd rather eat rusty nails with vinegar.
#30
Small talk.
Thorsten Massow 2 years ago
I'm happy to live in Northern-Germany. Smalltalk is not a thing Here. Even a greeting using more than one word ist Seen as being too talkative.
#31
Nespresso coffee, no clue why people are willing to pay such a premium for burnt tasting coffee
#32
Running.
ETA: Exercise of any kind really. I have ADHD and struggle with eating healthy and exercising. I’ve just never been able to find any consistency with it and part of it is I just don’t enjoy exercise no matter what I do, and I’ve tried a lot of things to make it better. I’m a therapist but we obviously have our struggles too, and this is one of my greatest challenges, especially after the past three years. I’ve appreciated all the comments and insights and am thinking about ways to get moving again!
Headless Roach 2 years ago
Once my friend said to me "Let's go for a rum!". Obviously I got excited and said YES, but we ended up running for some reason. We never found any rum that day, but we're still running together and looking.
#33
Other people
#34
Going to a children's performance, especially if their own kids aren't currently on stage
#35
Having a job
What do you think ?
Ches Yamada 2 years ago
Ugh. All of these can be boiled down to "*I* personally don't like this (or that), so no one else possibly can"! It's fine to have opinions, but remember: other people are not you. They like different things and don't think & experience the world the same way you do.
General Anaesthesia 2 years ago
Exactly, different strokes for different folks.
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XenoMurph 2 years ago
What a sad life people must lead. Looking at everything with disdain and lethargy. This just sounds like depression in word form.
steaky 2 years ago
... this is exactly how i felt after reading all this. Sure some things I like and some I don't like. But this sounds like a depression
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Loki’s Lil Butter Knife 2 years ago
Same here! I honestly don’t know what has happened to this site from the constant censorship, banning users, and rise of reposted content from Reddit. It used to be a site that posted quirky articles an artwork and now I’m scared to comment on anything that goes against the majority for fear of getting banned.
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Marco Richter 2 years ago
Well, too many of these posts are like "I don't like it so no one else does" The self centeredness of many a people is astonishing and quiet alarming.
Loki’s Lil Butter Knife 2 years ago
Some of these were pretty mean. Let people enjoy things. It’s fine not to like something, but don’t yuck someone’s yum. BoredPanda has been getting fairly negative with some of their listicles lately.
Colin Brackenridge 2 years ago
I knew a guy who used to go winter camping ffs.
Load More Replies... Susie Elle 2 years ago
Cold showers. For the life of me I can't fathom why anyone would want to start their day with an ice-cold drenching. If I do that I start to spasm and hyperventilate.
Tinderella 2 years ago
I love a cool shower as long as it’s not too cold outside. I have a lot of internal body heat.
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Alan Williams 2 years ago
The "comedy" series Friends. What a bunch of shite. I'd rather undergo root canal treatment without anaesthetic than watch this banal shite.
Tinderella 2 years ago
You weren’t old enough for the original run probably
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Rob Chapman 2 years ago (edited)
Those "Insert tv show or movie" ending explained videos. It could be a drama film where the main character got married to his childhood sweetheart. What the hell is there to explain. I mean, I get it if it some weird convoluted meta-scifi thing, but Youtubers make these vids for every darn film & tv show in existence. I'm sorry, but if you need the ending to The Lion King explained to you, maybe you need to redo the 3rd grade.
Ches Yamada 2 years ago
Ugh. All of these can be boiled down to "*I* personally don't like this (or that), so no one else possibly can"! It's fine to have opinions, but remember: other people are not you. They like different things and don't think & experience the world the same way you do.
General Anaesthesia 2 years ago
Exactly, different strokes for different folks.
Load More Replies... XenoMurph 2 years ago
What a sad life people must lead. Looking at everything with disdain and lethargy. This just sounds like depression in word form.
steaky 2 years ago
... this is exactly how i felt after reading all this. Sure some things I like and some I don't like. But this sounds like a depression
Load More Replies... Loki’s Lil Butter Knife 2 years ago
Same here! I honestly don’t know what has happened to this site from the constant censorship, banning users, and rise of reposted content from Reddit. It used to be a site that posted quirky articles an artwork and now I’m scared to comment on anything that goes against the majority for fear of getting banned.
Load More Replies... Marco Richter 2 years ago
Well, too many of these posts are like "I don't like it so no one else does" The self centeredness of many a people is astonishing and quiet alarming.
Loki’s Lil Butter Knife 2 years ago
Some of these were pretty mean. Let people enjoy things. It’s fine not to like something, but don’t yuck someone’s yum. BoredPanda has been getting fairly negative with some of their listicles lately.
Colin Brackenridge 2 years ago
I knew a guy who used to go winter camping ffs.
Load More Replies... Susie Elle 2 years ago
Cold showers. For the life of me I can't fathom why anyone would want to start their day with an ice-cold drenching. If I do that I start to spasm and hyperventilate.
Tinderella 2 years ago
I love a cool shower as long as it’s not too cold outside. I have a lot of internal body heat.
Load More Replies... Alan Williams 2 years ago
The "comedy" series Friends. What a bunch of shite. I'd rather undergo root canal treatment without anaesthetic than watch this banal shite.
Tinderella 2 years ago
You weren’t old enough for the original run probably
Load More Replies... Rob Chapman 2 years ago (edited)
Those "Insert tv show or movie" ending explained videos. It could be a drama film where the main character got married to his childhood sweetheart. What the hell is there to explain. I mean, I get it if it some weird convoluted meta-scifi thing, but Youtubers make these vids for every darn film & tv show in existence. I'm sorry, but if you need the ending to The Lion King explained to you, maybe you need to redo the 3rd grade.
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