The road to moral superiority was paved with hate-watching: A qualitative examination of why people watch things they hate

This study used semi-structured interviews (N = 23) with college students to explore hate-watching, defined here as “repeatedly watching people, things, or content we hate for the purpose of achieving some gratification.” Several important themes emerged from the analysis including (a) a pronounced desire for moral superiority and downward social comparison, (b) confirmation of existing beliefs, attitudes, values, and feelings, (c) a desire to understand “the other side” as perceived by hate-watchers, (d) a sense of “guilty pleasure”, and (e) social bonding. The findings offer new and exciting insight into modern viewing habits as they tend to defy the conventional wisdom of the literature regarding audiences gravitating toward content that affirms and reinforces existing beliefs, attitudes, values, and cognition. The implication is that hate-watching as a phenomenon may fuel societal polarization.