Poll: "They just hate it because it's popular."

[Small Waves]

No. I like things because I find something to enjoy about them, and I dislike things because I don't find much to enjoy.

For example, I don't like Ratatat, who are popular in their respective circles, but I don't like them because I find their music boring as shit. I dislike Ratatouille because it's a mess which changes mood halfway through after getting a new director. I hate the hype surrounding Odd Future, but find Tyler's music to be merely mediocre.

 

[AdamRBi]

It's a polarizing effect. One can see something and think "meh," or "I don't like this, this isn't for me" and retain a neutral opinion of it otherwise. It's only when a mass of others start praising it as the best thing since sliced bread do those who didn't like it begin to balance out the love with extreme hatred.

I'm guilty of it, before returning to my neutral stance I hated the movie Avatar. The Twilight Saga same deal, though I never actually saw the movie or read the books. Modern Warfare games were never my cup-o-tea ether, so I started hating them for a bit when I see them getting loads of praise. We're all guilty of it.

A great example of this is the My Little Pony fandom spreading around. I'm a fan of the show and every time I see a thread on it all I find inside are people polarizing against the show mainly because it's popular and fans love to talk about it.

 

[Jacob Pearlz]

i hate how people hate cod because its popular...

 

[FalloutJack]

I dunno. Does Halo count? I never got into it because I don't like the rabid overwhelming crazy fans who take it so damn serious. Maybe I just hate fans.

 

[Gildan Bladeborn]

No, not really - if I already dislike something or cannot see how it could possibly be worth the acclaim it garners, then the fact that it may be wildly popular would make me hate it more than if it were simply execrable and relatively unknown, simply because I'd be exposed to it more often, or the reality of its popularity would have cascading consequences that ripple across to things I really do give a toss about.

Only hipster douchebags hate things that are popular simply because they are popular though, and while I am a terrible snob about a great many things, a hipster I am not.

 

[penguindude42]

I hate only what's stupid lowest-common-denominator-bullshit.

Failo, Cock of Duty, Twatlight, etc.

Things like that.

TL;DR: I hate fanaticism.

~Tom

 

[DinkumFair]

I hate on popular stuff sometimes just to get a reaction out of fanboys. Other times I am ambivalent towards something popular but I get tired of hearing about it (or in the case of music tired of hearing it on the radio) and I start to be really negative about it. So basically yes I hate it because of its popularity.

 

[WouldYouKindly]

Hating specifically because it's popular? Kinda sort of. I hate that everyone tries to make me feel like I'm missing something because I've NEVER played Halo. It's an FPS about space marines against aliens that are trying to exterminate us. Story wise, it's been done before by every industry. The first one was fairly unique in how it revolutionized FPSs, however, that means every Halo afterwards just copied the first, because I see little development.

So I don't hate things because they're popular, I hate those people who like those popular things and try to make me assimilate like they're the Borg and I'm Captain Picard.

 

[Agayek]

Since you're reading this on an internet forum, it's probably safe to assume you've all encountered this particular phrase or some variation thereof.

It inevitably emerges when someone who enjoys a popular and/or successful product encounters someone who does not. Common examples include Avatar, Call of Duty and Harry Potter. The accusation is generally accompanied by the suggestion that the 'haters' are motivated by the desire to be independently minded people who do not simply follow the crowd.

...

Really? I mean... really?

Does anyone actually do this? Because I find it a bit hard to swallow.

Seriously, I'm curious. Have you - yes, you - ever decided to hate something purely because other people like it?

I personally have not, and to be honest I'm sure most people haven't either.

The reason that argument comes up is simply because people notice other people pointing out the negative in things they happen to like. It's just human nature for the negative/upsetting to stand out more.

As such, there is a lot more attention paid to the negative comments about things that are popular, which is where the original concept spawned.

 

[SillyBear]

Nothing deserves my hate unless it directly affected me.

This so much.

I've never been someone to hate anything unless I have a reason to. Why people allow bad music or bad film to anger them is a mystery to me. Bad things are allowed to exist, and sometimes things that we consider to be bad become incredibly popular. That's the nature of the beast and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Anyway, to answer the question, no I've never disliked something just because it got popular.

 

[Connor Lonske]

You know, I liked complaining about hipsters before it was cool. Now the subject is too mainstream.

 

[Brutal Peanut]

I have to travel to it, watch it, read it, listen to it, or play it before I can say anything about disliking it. I rarely ever hate anything that much, or use the word to describe something simple. Saying you hate something without actually having any experience with it or just using someone elses opinion as yours without even bothering to see what it's actually like, is a bit silly and childish.

 

[DementedSheep]

I have hated things purely because people won't shut the hell up about it. Dose that count as hating it because its popular?