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What are your guilty pleasures?
If I had a really rough day or accomplished more than expected, I make sure to reward myself as such. I've found that I treat myself to a local pizzeria or take a bath in steaming hot water and zone out from the world for an hour.
I don't understand why people must insist on calling it a "guilty" pleasure. If anything, this is an identification of our own quirks in the context of self-care.
It may sound like semantics but I think this is a major problem with how we view the world and a source of a lot of suffering. For instance, much of the stigma surrounding drug use is based on the opinion that people and animals don't like to get high (and those preaching this will subsequently go get drunk). Same goes with sexual kinks and fetishes. There is nothing wrong with pleasure (assuming no harm or at least consent) and there is nothing wrong with it being weird or against other peoples tastes (e.g. pop music and D-list movies etc.). Vices are another thing entirely—something that causes harm e.g. smoking.
I wish I could contribute but I don't feel guilty about any of my pleasures. Maybe getting stoned and watching Adventure Time would count, though.
I think people usually call them guilty pleasures because they think they should be doing something else. Like when you know you want to get better at piano but instead of practicing piano you watch a TV show or do something else. It's a personal thing - not everyone is going to feel guilt over pursuing one action over another.
Since when? Nearly every drug study which allows animals to freely dose ends up with drug addicted animals.
Absolutely agreed!
I agree 100%, but my point is that this premise is flawed and damaging to mental health (and even productivity or goal attainment). Doing unrelated and relaxing/mindless tasks are often just as good for productivity (if not better, in some circumstances) as focusing on the productive task/goal itself. A good example is why "shower thoughts" are a thing. Not to mention the prevention for burnout which can then lead to real loss of productivity. The Dutch have a word for this kind of "doing nothing": Niksen.
Another concept is the "outsider effect"; maybe you watch a TV show and a concept that pertains to e.g. a problem within your project or watch a movie soundtrack and are inspired by a song that leads you to explore something new with your piano practice. It's important to experience life broadly, rather than be so narrowly focused. This is coming from a workaholic and quantified-self/productivity nut...
You misquoted me here. What I said was "[...] much of the stigma surrounding drug use is based on the opinion that people and animals don't like to get high [...]", as in animals do like to get high but humans often have the contrary opinion. Also, addiction is not a guarantee outcome of drug use; see Rat Park.
Oh yeah completely agreed.
Absolutely! My intent was not to say that any of this is wrong or harmful or even imply that it isn't useful or important for mental health and creativity.
Ah, understood.
Of course, not all drugs are addictive and not all individuals get addicted to drugs. Apologies for the phrasing.
Glad we agree! In retrospect, I hope I wasn't too aggressive in my reply there.
I think the "guilty" part comes from puritanical ideas of US history. Idle hands make the devil's playthings, and all.
Yes, I consider it a "guilty" pleasure, too.
Generally for me it's going to be watching "safe TV". By "safe TV" I mean stuff that I've either watched before and really like (not necessarily in terms of quality, but of setting. IT Crowd, Psych, Black Books, Futurama, all feel really good and safe). Or it can also mean watching a streamer play a game I enjoy. I'm a huge sucker for Day9's day offs and his Mostly Walking series. I also really enjoy watching AnneMunition play some games. Astroneer is one of my favourites, very chill.
For me it’s the opposite: I have an uncommon interest in obscure media and avant-garde films. I don’t think of myself as a film aficionado any more than I’m a connoisseur of wines (I took a course on the latter, but I’m still an amateur when it comes to choosing a bottle). That being said, I know that none of my friends want to watch these types of movies with me. Some are Best Picture winners from yesteryear (I just watched The Sting (1973) last night), but I rarely find anyone that can put up with the pace of storytelling for anything more than 20 years ago.
My esotericism has actually garnered a roommate’s inside joke for myself in that whenever I’m in control of the main screen it becomes “[My Name] TV”. They say this somewhat endearingly because I have also introduced them to interesting, yet odd and out-there, experiences. It’s my “guilty” pleasure because I wholeheartedly get embarrassed when they walk in on a movie that I thought I’d see alone, and yet the images on the screen are quite absurd and provocative (think: when watching an R-rated film and your parents walk in during the only sex scene).
Regardless of how it’s perceived, I truly find enjoyment from this part of my life, so I don’t feel guilty about it. That being said, what makes it a “guilty” pleasure is that not everyone is into it, which is a totally fair opinion as well. However, I think it’s unfair to wholesale say anything that’s not mainstream would be “guilty”, because there should be no shame in recognizing you don’t fit into the mainstream, either ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
All that said, though...I do like certain blockbusters...there’s just something about pushing our film capabilities to the limits that excites me :)
I know exactly what you mean by safe TV. Star Trek, especially The Next Generation, is my main go to for that.
Guilty because it is genuinely bad for me. Scalding hot showers. Hot showers are bad for you in general but with eczema you pay for them over the next couple of days regardless of how much you moisturise afterwards. On the flip side scalding hot showers are orgasmic on broken/damaged skin.
Guilty but don't give a fuck. Large portions of crap food. I can make good food. I trained as a chef for a year and grew up in a italian household. I cook for my large family every christmas and easter. However occasionally i just want a big fuck off bowl full of pasta with butter on or to eat a shares bag worth of popcorn to myself and to eat until i feel sick.
Guilty and i'd be embarrassed if it was found out irl. ASMR. My YT feed now is 70% ASMR. Some days like sunday evenings the 15 most recent videos might all be asmr. I don't get "tingles" so its mostly as background noise or relaxation. I have ASMR videos on in the background whenever i am near my PC. I watch eating ones when i am fasting. I watch relaxing ones before bed. I watch no talking ones when reading. I love asmr but i am under no pretences that it is weird. It's artificial intimacy. There is a lot of "oops" sexual stuff (and not so "oops"). The noises are often repulsive if they were happening in real life. Since it exploded in popularity their is a lot of bandwagon ASMRtists who are only there so they can getting free chinese clothing. ASMR fans are mental too. There are a lot of people really insecure about it and lose their shit at anything remotely sexual because it "taints" the community, there is the boobs and vagina commentators, there are incels who harass makers who do sexual things. Its like a microcosm of the internet.
Yeah, eczema is a bitch, but I (used to be) guilty of this too. I've just had ice cold showers recently to try combat it, but it's a bit grim to do.
I'm guilty of this too, haha. If I'm alone I usually can't be assed to make a meal, so I either skip it or go overkill.
Are you me?
Are you my partner?
Are you both of us occupying the same existence from an alternate worldline that is somehow connected to mine via Tildes?
@Deimos, what have you created?!
It’s not really a guilty pleasure, but when I’ve had a stressful day, I like to unwind by watching a horror movie.
A) I really like them and they’re a good way to zone out for a while
B) However bad my day was, at least I’m not being chased by a large hulking man with a machete. It adds perspective.
That sounds way scarier than a huge hulking machine with a machete.
As in the old meme: yo dog, i heard you were afraid of machete's so i put a bunch of smaller machetes on a larger machete.
Two machetes are better than one!
Unless you are being chased with them, this makes 2 machetes a lot worse than 1
What’ve been your favorites lately? Hereditary has been the only movie to legitimately scare me over the last ten years.
It depends on what kind of horror you like. My favorite movie of the year has been One Cut of the Dead.
It’s a movie about a crew shooting a zombie movie that gets attacked by real zombies. I advise you to go into it not knowing anything else about it for reasons that will become obvious once you’ve seen it.
Nice! I'll add it to the queue.
I really enjoy existential dread, slow burn, sometimes obtuse horror movies like Annihilation, Hereditary, The Thing, The Witch, It Follows-- but can also enjoy fun, lower-stakes horror films like anything from the Waniverse (Insidious, The Conjuring) or Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark.
I don't really care for most slashers as they just feel like killing galleries (with some exceptions/sometimes I am totes in the mood to see a bunch of people get killed), and try to avoid anything with sexual assault.
In that case, here's some slow build ones to check out:
Good recommendations! The only one of those I haven't seen is Willow Creek, so I'll give that a shot. The last found footage horror film to give me good spooks was The Taking of Deborah Logan.
If you enjoyed Deborah Logan, check out The Last Exorcism.
My guilty pleasure is enjoying the fruits of mining from conflict zones, knowing that my enjoying those products further inflames conflicts in regions that are resource rich but unstable and exploited. I will not give up my smart phone despite knowing full well that my purchase of this phone has helped cause more suffering in other parts of the world where the rare materials used in my phone are found.
Ding-ding-ding, we have a winner, folks!
Maybe this one is also the head-in-sand pleasure?
Honestly, most of the quality of western civilisation is [and always has been] at the expense of the third-world. Which is why the responses to the many refugee 'crises' around the world is interesting. What did everyone think would happen?
Pizza. And sweets.
Shockingly, also very long bike rides, or very long runs. I mean 2-4 hour long ones. Taking 2-4 hours for myself is quite selfish.
A 6 hour half century I recently did? That was a birthday gift.
As an aside, I see this as a bit of self-flagellation. I punish myself, to pay for guilt. But, then it brings on guilt inducing that amount of suffering.
I dunno.. Rambling, I guess.
Those seems to counterinteract with each other :)
Lolcows. I watch all videos about Chris Chan, JustinRPG, Fandoms and all that kind of stuff.
I feel a bit guilty, because it's one of the most useless things to do with your time, and these people are sometimes legit have mental issues that internet prays upon and feeds into, but there is something mesmerising about their antics and things they get themselves into, I just can't look away.
Some Top 40 pop music, generally. Otherwise I don't feel guilty about enjoying things.
Ha same! I've got a playlist called Get Swifty for my Taylor Swift binges.
For a minor kind of pleasure, I'd definitely say curling up under the blanket with a non-alcoholic beer and a bag of chips with a good movie or TV show. It's comforting and a great way to just zone out for a while.
For a genuinely guilty pleasure, as in something I know isn't good for me, I've been known to occasionally skip class if I feel too busy or overwhelmed. It's not good because I inevitably have to learn what I missed anyway, so it just makes things harder in the long term... but on a really stressful Thursday afternoon facing my last class of the day, it feels so good to just give in and not have to think or worry about anything for an hour. I have a really low stress tolerance and unfortunately, university classes are something I find stressful, or at least mentally exhausting.
Bank robbery
That's some rank bobbery, annadane.
The Dirty Harry movies. 'nuff said.