There’s No Such Thing As a Guilty Pleasure
Some people follow the teachings of Jesus or Buddha. I, on the other hand, have Ryan Closs. For those of you who don’t know him, allow me to inform you that the man is a sage in an era of social media. Whenever I feel as if I’m drowning in an endless sea of comments, tweets, and downvotes, I talk to Ryan, repurpose my energy and set off on a path of electronically-aided enlightenment. In one of his recent retorts, he imparted an important axiom unto me: there is no such thing as a guilty pleasure. Moments later, I began to research his claim, so that I might spread the word of Ryan to you, my fellow geeks.
A guilty pleasure is something one enjoys and considers pleasurable despite feeling guilt for enjoying it. - Wikipedia
To be exact, we’re talking about the ignominy of enjoyment that seems to compliment our consumption of certain media. For some reason, as a culture, we’ve come to accept a modicum of shame whenever we watch shows like Jersey Shore. As far as I can tell, it started back in 1907 when the phrase was coined. In those days, the idea of abundance for the common man was an abstract concept, something that sounded more like what H.G. Wells was writing about than an actual possibility for society. Yet, within fifty years, your average nuclear family was enjoying the perks and pleasures we’ve come to expect out of modern life. Prosperity gave way to free time, which in turn was met with a mass media boom, completing the transformation of an agrarian society into a post-industrial world. With the table set and the television on, we finally found a reason to hide what we loved from others.
While we could stop there and simply accept Ryan’s theory, it’s too easy to label guilty pleasures as an expression of embarrassment caused by wasting previously unavailable time. It’s far more likely that the shame that comes from watching Mega Shark Versus Giant Octopus isn’t because you think it’s a waste of your time; it’s a feeling that exists because you’re afraid of being ostracized. As the geeks of days past found free time, our culture went through a period of having homogenized broadcasts beamed into our collective conscience. The state of media was anything but social, since viewers had very little impact over what they saw on their television sets. As we began to consume more and converse less, a lack of transparency in society was created, which caused a major problem for “media deviants” looking to connect with one another. If you loved something that wasn’t cool, you put yourself at risk of losing social credibility by being a vocal fan. Essentially, you chose between hiding a guilty pleasure or being labeled a geek.
Although many people let shame decide for them, thousands of true geeks subverted the concept of the guilty pleasure by becoming involved in the media they admired. Not surprisingly, Star Trek fans were some of the first to transcend the social stigma of media deviancy. In the late 1960s, supporters of the show began building a community around their love for the Enterprise and its crew, producing letters, magazines, and fan fiction in an attempt to connect with one another. Gene Rodenberry, the creator of Star Trek, told his staff to take heed of what the fans said, as the community’s reaction was integral to making the show a success. Ironically, it was science fiction that gave way to a change in how we geeks approached media in the future.
In the modern day, our digital world resembles the sort of utopia Trekkies love. We’ve evolved beyond the need for guilty pleasures because there is no more risk associated with media deviancy. Anything you adore, no matter how obscure or obscene, is likely to have thousands of fans online. As geeks build communities out of their collective love for certain media, all of that passive time in front of a television is turned into a positive social experience. Due to the anonymous nature of the Internet, you don’t even need to divulge any personal details, reducing the risk of discovery to nothing. In fact, the perceived, yet unfounded fear of ridicule can actually limit your chances of connecting with others, giving feedback to creators and participating in any efforts put forth by like-minded fans. With any shame and loss of social credibility absolved by way of a simple Internet search, the only person truly harmed by a guilty pleasure is you.
“[Forget] being cool. Love what you love.” – Ryan Closs
Well, I suppose it’s time to shed my embarrassment…
Some people have Bieber Fever, but with the release of smash-hit Youtube sensation “Friday” I find myself stricken by the Black Plague.
And I am still proud to call you friend.
Great article as usual, Joey! As I’ve gotten older I’ve definitely noticed less and less the stigma associated with geeky behavior, and I’ve also met an increasingly number of like-minded individuals (in real life, even!). But I still encounter public geek shaming on a daily basis. “I’m embarrassed for you, even if you’re not,” that sort of thing. It’s still far below high school levels (what a nightmare), but I think you might underestimate the average American just slightly. Even so, I like what you’re saying, and I wish everyone was mature enough to agree!
It’s a funny thing, Andy. Sure, there are more of us popping out of the woodwork (Twitter’s great for that), but there are still those that snigger at geekdom. Even my wife will make some small remark when I waffle on about some geeky thing I’ve discovered. [sigh]
I guess one thing that’s really highlighted this recently is the debacle over the New York Times writer who “reviewed” Game of Thrones. She discounted the series as something only geeks would enjoy seriously, and even in her article replying to the outrage, she still managed to reduce the geek crowd as a lunatic fringe minority (in her view).
One day, we’ll rule the world.
Actually, gentlemen, the truth is that we’ve already won. Public geek shaming aside, more people than ever are sitting in front of a computer, playing a video game or watching something based off of a book/comic book. As our society shifts away from that lack of transparency that’s kept us hiding our hobbies, people will see that geek culture is as ubiquitous as cell phones. When the Twilight series alone has put down over a billion dollars, I think it’s fair to say that.
After reading this i feel compelled to reveal my secrect, I have no idea if i would be considered a “geek”. Being of the Redneck culture (not to be mistaken for hill billies) I enjoy shooting my guns,hunting, and being under the hood of my trucks just as much as a good video game or reading internet articles from time to time . The lines between Geeks and the so called “cool kids” are blurred quite a bit in my neck of the woods and i do sometimes wonder what others think about the activities I enjoy. In the area i live in generaly people dont play video games.
Since all of my friends are older than I am on and offline and vary greatly in age difference (some older by 40 years or more) its hard to tell sometimes what they do and do not approve of spending my free time on. I would say alot of times I have asked myself if the things i enjoy so much are guilty pleasures or am i just torn between cultures.
“I can’t wait to move, so I can get a faster Internet connection.”
Those are your words. You are one of us, as much as any one of us. You love technology and world politics, like me. You love guns, cars and bigger guns, like Justein. You love Star Trek, like SyzyJustin. You love the great outdoors, like Lettuce. We all have a lot in common, even if that’s not clear when we’re all yelling about some guy tea-bagging. In a way, we’re all torn between cultures, but it’s our intense love that keeps us together as a group and makes us geeks together.
I know the term isn’t always used that way, but I’m proud to be a geek. To me, we are the cool kids. I have a smile on my face when one of us makes a distinction like “that doesn’t really work like that” or “technically, it’s a recoilless rifle.” It means we’re invested in what we do, that we take pleasure in what we do, and moreover, that we’re supposed to be doing what we do. If it wasn’t for people talking in Japanese or debating what truck is the best buy, I wouldn’t have spent so much time with you guys.
S-10′s were always the best buy its a shame chevy dosent build them anymore though i am optimistic about the colarado. My middle name is justin so i suppose i should share common interests with the others.
I indeed invested alot of time into my interests and had hoped to develop them into a career but now it just seems like time wasted and is more of a hobby now. Though i guess knowing how to kill a man in many different forms of combat could come in handy as a police officer. But i know alot of others outside my online list of friends look at my interest in military tactics, hardware, and training as a waste of time so it does make me feel guilty at times that im not investing my time into something more useful since that career plan has went down the drain.
All i ever wanted to be was a soldier and alot of people look at me like im nuts if i tell them that, thinking im just some idiot looking to get shot. When really it was always more about standing up for those that arent able, fighting for a cause you beleive in, and making a difference in this cesspool of a world. People reacting as such makes me feel guilty for wasting so much time on this. You go find the SEAL’s that took down osama why they did it and you will understand.
How can this not be a guilty pleasure when i really enjoy it but in the end its pointless. Like beating a video game and getting every achievement and realising hey this means absolutely nothing. Alot of people have always seen my interest as a crazed obssesion when i view it as a tactical advantage just waiting for the opportunity to be used.
Whoops left out ask in the last line of paragraph 3 its supposed to say “ask why”.