Do people enjoy being unhappy?

[IllumInaTIma]

This is something that I was thinking about recently with all the Superman vs. Batman casting news and some Amazing Spider-man 2 screens. Do people enjoy hating things?! I mean, we all remember the outcry when Ben Affleck was confirmed to be new Batman. Now people are bashing on Wonder Woman's actress. And with new Spider man info people keep talking about just how stupid new Electro and Rhino look. Oh yeah! Because Electro didn't look like a fucking clown in comics! And my point is specifically aimed at Superman and spider man, it's pointed to the fact that people's default reaction is negativity! Always! Why?! Is there something enjoyable in being grumpy?! It may all just seem like a rant, but this is something that I just keep thinking about! By this point I consider myself an optimist! Not because I am, but because this is what I look like in comparison to all the negativity surrounding me!

Anyway, do you share my point of view? Am I just being too sensitive? And if I am, could share some cute animal gifs with me?

 

[w9496]

People love to ***** about stuff so they can feel better about how they feel.

Lots of people aren't going to be happy with whoever plays Batman/Wonder Woman, and likely never will be because that would involve not complaining.

 

[Kolby Jack]

Hating something and being unhappy are two entirely different things.

And yes, hating on something can be fun. It can even be rational. Besides, lowering one's own expectations is a common defense mechanism; if proven correct, you aren't disappointed, and if proven wrong, you are pleasantly surprised. It's win-win. Dwelling on things you hate, not letting them go, and never being able to get excited about something are what make you a real cynic. Most people are somewhere in between.

 

[shrekfan246]

This is something that I was thinking about recently with all the Superman vs. Batman casting news and some Amazing Spider-man 2 screens. Do people enjoy hating things?! I mean, we all remember the outcry when Ben Affleck was confirmed to be new Batman. Now people are bashing on Wonder Woman's actress. And with new Spider man info people keep talking about just how stupid new Electro and Rhino look. Oh yeah! Because Electro didn't look like a fucking clown in comics! And my point is specifically aimed at Superman and spider man, it's pointed to the fact that people's default reaction is negativity! Always! Why?! Is there something enjoyable in being grumpy?! It may all just seem like a rant, but this is something that I just keep thinking about! By this point I consider myself an optimist! Not because I am, but because this is what I look like in comparison to all the negativity surrounding me!

Do you feel better after getting all of that off your chest?

I'd like to say it's an advanced form of catharsis, but I agree with the assessment of the "default reaction" to most things on the internet being negative, and at that point I don't really think you can blame it on catharsis anymore. And I'll have to resist resorting to the Penny Arcade answer if I can.

You know, I'll still go with the catharsis answer, actually. But I'll put up my PhD drawn in crayon and say that there might sometimes be a case of latent subconscious Schadenfreude as well, and it combines together so that you see people who enjoy engaging in arguments with people who disagree with them so that they can also attempt to feel 'superior'.

Spoiler: Or for the crass answer

The internet tends to be one massive pseudo-intellectual circle-jerk.

 

[Rawberry101]

People definitely like to complain about being unhappy. Perhaps it has to do with knowing that other people share that complaint, linking people together....through misery. I don't have much to add on the comic movies section of you post.

This post did remind me of the chorus from the Nirvana song 'Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge on Seattle:'

"I miss the comfort in being sad"
Well it's more like "ssaaayayyayyyaaayaaaaiiiiiddd."

Good stuff right there Kurt haha.

 

[RJ 17]

There's one simple phrase that completely answers your question:

"Haters Gonna Hate".

That's pretty much all there is to it. There's a lot of "haters" out there that just like complaining about easy-to-complain-about topics. Ben Affleck has had an..."up-and-down" career, to put it lightly. There's a lot of people who would rank him right up there with Keanu Reeves in terms of "bad actors", as such anything that has the name Ben Affleck attached to it is immediately equated to "shit". Again: Haters Gonna Hate.

Same thing with Spider-Man. It's more likely they didn't like the first movie and as such they immediately think the second movie is going to be absolute crap. Yet again: Haters Gonna Hate.

As I said, these are "easy" targets because a lot of people think of Ben Affleck as a bad actor, making him easy to hate on. And from what I've heard, a lot of people didn't particularly enjoy The Amazing Spider-Man, making it an easy hate-target as well.

Personally I think that the majority of people have just become jaded towards movies due to all the crap we have to sift through to find true gems sometimes.

 

[Thaluikhain]

Hating things doesn't need to make you unhappy, at least not initially and directly. Very popular to attack something for no good reason.

 

[Elfgore]

People like to *****. To anyone or even themselves. If my boss pisses me off alot, after I get off work I will just start shouting out all of my angers at no one. It makes me feel better and gets it out of my system. By the time I get home I don't even care anymore.

Though I do think some people actually enjoy looking at the negative of everything and enjoy complaining about it. Probably just to be trolls or something.

 

[Matthew Jabour]

Your question is a logical fallacy, but there is a certain joy to be found in criticizing and nitpicking. Ever seen CinemaSins?

 

[Realitycrash]

Hating on something is basically like old-time gossipi. It's social grooming. You can get together with your group of like-minded friends and trashtalk something easy. It's bonding. It's stupid, but it's bonding, and we are all guilty of it.


And for you generally unhappy people out there, remember; Misery is easy, happiness is hard.

 

[Olas]

Actually sometimes it's the opposite way around. If you didn't like a movie to begin with, critising can make you feel better about the experience.

Also, Yahtzee would say that low expectations are better in the long run because you're never dissapointed and sometimes pleasantly surprised.

 

[briankoontz]

The producers of geek media are happy, because people getting angry about such trivial things means they've won.

 

[Tiger King]

Yeah people love a good moan ha ha.
You only have to look at the Xbox one outcry to see a good example.
Fair enough people didn't like what Microsoft were proposing but the way people carried on you would have thought purchasing the new console was mandatory!

 

[Rainforce]

We certainly love to hate : D
but we also love to love, so... I guess it's about the balance and equal amount of emotional attachment/feedback so one doesn't lose their sense for what's good and bad.

 

[The Wykydtron]

Ha! Welcome to England. Bitching quietly about things is our national pastime.

Personally I love to ***** about David "Emotions" Cage games, how Bioshock Infinite is fucking baaaaaaaaaaaad and how EU West is a laggy retard of a server whenever I can. Honestly, whenever I hear anyone who plays on NA ***** about lag all I feel is contempt and righteous indignation. You call THAT lag? You DARE to call that pathetic delay lag? Fuck you. You know nothing.

EU offline? Better give NA RP!

Conversely I love to go on about how Attack on Titan is the most hype anime ever and how Persona 4 is the best thing ever.