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

[Zhukov]

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?

 

[Internet Kraken]

Not entirely. Sometimes my hatred for something has been amplified by it being popular, simply because I don't get how something I despise could be so incredibly popular. But I've never gone out of my way to hate something purely because it is popular. Sometimes things are popular for a reason after all. But if something is really popular I tend to have higher expectations for it, which rarely ends well.

 

[Hobo Joe]

Personally I like quite a mixture of popular and obscure things so I couldn't really say I have encountered this but the Escapist seems to be populated by a very odd mix of people. Some days you'll have nothing but "I hate Bieber/CoD/Halo/Anything else mainstream and I know you all do too so let's rant about them together" threads and others people seem quite happy to discuss very popular titles such as Half-Life or Portal. Frankly, if anything I think this stems from elitism in the general population of this site, popularity is a concern but the main concern of many is how "intelligent" or high-brow the item in question may or may not be.

 

[Daystar Clarion]

What do you think a hipster is? Sure, some people dislike popular things because they simply don't like them, but there are plenty of douchey hipsters who disregard anything if it's popular enough.

I've personally never hated something because it was popular, although I am annoyed by certain fans surrounding certain popular things.

 

[Togs]

As an initial knee jerk reaction definately, but I always take the time to actaully try what Im bashing, and 9/10 times it is just as bad as I made it out to be.

 

[Ilikemilkshake]

Yup, Twilight i hated for.. well at least a year for precisely that reason, then i decided i would stop being a hypocrite cos im always saying you should form your own opinion on things, so i watched all 3 twilight movies.

After watching i can safely say i still dont like twilight.. but at least im not a hypocrite.

 

[Keava]

Plenty of people hate on things because they are popular, just because they think it makes them oh so much cooler, but there is just as many legitimate complaints about those products. I tend to dislike them (i avoid word hate, simply because it's way too strong emotion to even be considered in those cases) purely on the basis of their lack of quality/artistic merit/innovation or simply due to me not enjoying given genre.

I'm also so weird that i actually do watch/play test/read/listen to those things first before articulating my opinion, else it would be nothing but ignorance. Popular things can be enjoyable, nothing bad with it.

 

[Tallim]

I hate thing because I hate them, not because anyone else likes them. That phrase does come up though. My dislike for something can be heavily amplified by others going on and on about it though.

 

[Joccaren]

The only reason I have ever disliked something popular, is because the people who use it are not the kind of people I like, and thus playing the game would be an unpleasurable experience for me. So, I hate the player, not the game. (I didn't hate Avatar, I just thought it was a 'meh' movie. I don't see why it did so well. Call of Duty I am against on the principle of its players (mainly those who go to my school) who would not stop filling my earhole with talk about kill streaks, K/D ratios, prestiges ect. Its bad enough constantly getting told (Imagine if [my name] played, he'd be great at it). Harry Potter I have nothing against. Infact, I'm all for it (except the most recent one, too much focus on relationships between characters for my liking). It appeals to most demographics; it starts of as a children's movie, and builds up to a dark fantasy, more teen/adult oriented, series.)

 

[ChupathingyX]

Nope never, it just seems stupid to hate something because a lot of people like it.

Although in the past people have accused me of jumping on the hate bandwagon when I said I didn't like Avatar. I didn't hate it I just thought it was nothing special except for the fact that it was "pretty".

 

[rockoffanddie]

I have never (i believe) hated anything because it is popular. If something is popular and i find that i dislike it, the fact that it is popular can lead to me describing it as "overrated" since i think it is not worth the popularity, but the reason that i dislike it is not due to its popularity.

 

[curintedery]

I hated avatar, I admit it... but it was nothing to do with it being popular. I saw it on day of release, so I had no idea how popular it was going to be, and both me and the two mates I went with didn't like it. I think there are many popular things that aren't really all that good, so some things just deserve to be disliked.

 

[tigermilk]

Anyone else think the poll should jsut have two options 'yes' and 'don't lie'?

 

[Mark Hardigan]

No. I dislike things because I dislike them. I dislike Avatar because it has a very bland rehashed story, but I give it props because the cinematography and CGI is unbelievably gorgeous. I dislike Black Ops and Modern Warfare 2 because they are just the same rehashed game mechanics, essentially making the games expensive DLC. And I hate Twilight because it's the worst piece of badly written trash I've ever had the displeasure to read. I don't hate them because they're popular. That's just stupid.

 

[Anaklusmos]

I don't automatically hate on things because they are popular, I hate on things that are popular which are also causing something negative.

 

[Amphoteric]

I don't hate anything, I'm just indifferent to it. If I don't like something then I won't go anywhere near it. It would be hypocritical for me to dislike 1 thing for being popular whilst liking something else that is popular. Yeah, I'm not a hipster.

 

[Lynoxus]

In a way, yes. I would like to believe I have specific tastes in many areas, not to say I can't enjoy (I'll use the word 'mainstream' for now) things, however they are catered to a broad audience, and so not usually the best thing for me.

 

[Amberella]

Don't think I've ever hated something for being popular. If anything, it being popular doubled or tripled my already hatred for it.

 

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

Nope. I only hate things I've tried myself first. Kind of like how I act with food. I won't say I hate it unless I've tried it before.

 

[conzan]

No, but that's not to say that i don't dislike that one game you happened to list I'm just not in to realism unless the online is amazingly team based (ARMA 2 style)
But i do love the halo series and that's a popular game so yeah, but i know people who dislike games because they are popular they say it effects how a game is made (which is "BS" in my opinion)
but yeah i'm not like that but i know people who are