Believe it or not, nowadays I am ashamed to admit I was once a fan of Game of Thrones. Has there ever been any show that slipped as quickly from pop culture relevance as that one? Don't get me started on that final season... I have no desire to sit through the whole damn thing again now that I know how it ends.
It turns out I'm not the only person with shame––or love for a good guilty pleasure, for that matter. We heard all about them after Redditor metals02 asked the online community,
"What's something that you're ashamed to admit you like?"
"It seems..."
"Depending on who is asking, Magic the Gathering. It seems like when talking to other people in my demographic I am only supposed to talk about investing and whisky but I want to talk about a child's trading card game."
This was pretty popular growing up. It wasn't my thing, but I admired the level of expertise the other kids developed. Watching them play was like seeing people speak a different language.
"I read at least..."
"Fanfiction. I read at least half an hour's worth a day but often more. I can crush a 100k word fic in a day, easy. It's replaced books for me, which makes it awkward when I say I love to read and can't name a whole lot of books. It's just comforting - I know what I'm getting into and it's usually worth my time to me. It's so disappointing buying a book based on a tiny blurb and then not getting into it. The embarrassment comes mostly from the fact that most people assume it's just all erotica. While I don't mind reading sex scenes, I tend to skim them sometimes, and I'm way more into the build-up and the plot. It's not something I'm getting off to at all."
High school me read some for the hell of it. Some of my friends, though? They were obsessed. They'd read fanfiction on the computers during school hours.
"I've been judged..."
"I'm a guy that loves Sailor Moon. I've been judged and labeled weird by other women for liking it so I keep it to myself in real life."
Own it! Live your Tuxedo Mask fantasy!
"I'm not thrilled..."
"I'm not thrilled to tell people how much I like Barry Manilow. But it reminds me of being young, happy and with my mom."
"There is a negative stigma..."
"I love the band Fall Out Boy.
They were my muse in 2007.
But every time I mention them, even to fans of pop-punk music, I feel like I need to apologize for liking Fall Out Boy. There is a negative stigma about the band that is super undeserved."
They're definitely one of those bands with a high nostalgia factor. They've definitely grown on more people after the fact.
"A cold..."
"A cold cut-up hot dog as a snack. At work I eat it out of a Ziploc bag from inside my lunch bag so no one sees."
I find this revolting, but thank you for living up to the theme of this article. I can see why you're ashamed. Well done.
"The books..."
"The Twilight Saga. The story is cringe, sure, but the soundtrack is so good. The books were what I binge-read during summer vacation in high school. They just put up the movies on Netflix, and you bet your butt I watched them like I was a teenager again."
What's wrong with letting people like what they like, right? Enjoy it! You're not harming anyone. Critics can be so melodramatic.
"As a kid..."
"Anime.
As a kid, I was bullied for liking it. To this day (even though it's more acceptable now), no one besides my significant other knows I watch it."
"I like having..."
"I like having a lack of freedom. I like decisions being made for me. I like having fewer options."
"Fills the void..."
" TikTok.
Fills the void that Vine left behind and there is actually some interesting and funny content once you get past the cringe and dances."
I am still not over the person who eats a cold hot dog. Still not entirely convinced that they've actually tasted the damn thing. If they had, they wouldn't have admitted to this! The nausea is real!
Have some guilty pleasures of your own? Feel free to tell us about them in the comments section below!
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@joehas/X
