Fads occur when an item of popular culture, be it online or in real life, becomes inexplicably popular for a short period of time. For instance, I can still remember when everyone seemed to obsess over Pokemon, Yu-gi-oh, and Beyblade. Some more recent fads include Angry Birds, Duck Dynasty, and Game of Thrones.
Interestingly, some of these fads are still celebrated amongst small pockets of people, and I feel that if something brings you minor joy, entertainment, or amusement, then you have every right to it.
‘Hate fads,’ however, are an entirely different story.
I find that fads can also encompass the way some people go about ‘hating’ on things, rather than enjoying them, for short periods of time. If you haven’t noticed, the internet is full of people expressing their dislike for certain things, whether it be through chat boxes, videos, or other means. Oftentimes, it seems that people just enjoy coming together to hate stuff.
Normally, a little bit of collective dislike is fine and dandy; it can be fun to talk about the things that really grind your gears, especially with people who agree with you, or at least don’t rebuff your opinion.
However, the problem with a lot of these hate fads is that it seems as if many people hate certain things because everybody else hates them; in other words, they jump on the ‘hate bandwagon.’
It’s snobby to assume that people should listen to, watch, or even wear certain things.
One example would be the recent hate towards the band Nickelback. The issue here is not that people genuinely dislike the band, but more so the fact that they express their dislike because its the ‘cool’ thing to do.
Another example would be the hate I see toward Justin Bieber. While I don’t find any enjoyment in listening to his music, is he that extraordinarily bad that he needs to be singled out? I feel it has become a rite of passage for everyone to point fingers and agree on how much they seemingly dislike his music.
The main problem here is that we live in a culture in which we’re pressured to dislike certain things. In reality, everyone should be entitled to their own interests without feeling this pressure — it’s snobby to assume that people should listen to, watch, or even wear certain things.
Truthfully, though, whatever you get enjoyment out of should be good enough for both you and anyone else. It does not matter if it has been deemed by some internet society to be terrible. What I might call ‘cookie-cutter crap’ may deeply connect with someone else, or just plain sound good, and there’s nothing wrong with this notion.
With taste, there is no right or wrong, there is only the subjective. The only person’s taste that really matters is your own. So remember, if you’re going to hate, only hate what you actually hate, not what the group has decided that everyone should hate. Don’t board the hate-train, think for yourself.
