With “hate watching” we watch series or films that we actually don’t like. We explain to you why this gives us such a good feeling – and what risks it entails at the same time.
“Hate watching” refers to the phenomenon of watching series or films that you actually don’t like. According to the definition in the Merriam-Webster dictionary, hate-watching means watching a series or film you don’t like and enjoying it. The attraction is, for example, to criticize or make fun of clichéd characters.
Hate watching consists on the one hand of contempt for a series or a film, and on the other hand of fascination and enjoyment that viewers feel when they are able to hate something “from afar”.
Hate Watching: That’s why we do it
You may have caught yourself hate watching. But why does it actually make us feel so good to watch things we actually hate? The psychologist JR Ilagan gives the US magazine “Vice” three main reasons:
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Good feeling through strong emotions: In addition to love and pleasure, hate can also trigger strong emotions. This process involves the secretion of neurotransmitters such as dopamine and serotonin, which studies have shown make us feel good.
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Comparison with others: We humans tend to compare ourselves to others. For example, if we see people on television who are worse off than us, we often feel better straight away.
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Hate as a social connection: Shared hatred of a particular series, film, or individual character can connect. A study by the University of Louisiana at Lafayette underlines the desire for social connectedness as a possible reason for hate watching. Like-minded people share their anger in social media comments or do it when they meet friends in real life.
Risks of Hate Watching
Hate watching may seem entertaining at first, especially when you get together with friends and like-minded people and can exchange ideas. But fun can turn serious when hate-watching becomes a form of addiction. This activity lives from the fact that you judge other people or even condemn them. To avoid this, it is worth turning to the digital detox and consciously avoiding social media and television for a while.
There is a risk that we will adopt this pattern of behavior in our social life. Or that we adopt clichéd, sometimes hurtful, stereotypes about other people from films or series without critically questioning them. This is also suggested by a study by the “Hungarian Academy of Sciences”. You don’t need to put others down to make yourself feel better. Instead, you can learn healthy self-love through practices like yoga or mindfulness exercises.
You may be withdrawing more and more from real life into the virtual world, which is accompanied by hate and negative feelings. You become addicted to the taunts that make you feel so good. Keep in mind that when you judge others, not only are you hurting those around you, but you may also be endangering your own health, studies show. So instead of indulging in hate watching, you should rather turn to positive things, such as a long walk in the forest or meeting friends. A happiness diary can also help you to focus on the positive experiences in everyday life.
Read more on Techzle.com:
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