# Do you want other people to like the things you like? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 4, 2010, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-want-other-people-to-like-the-things-you-like/559398 "2010-11-04T01:53:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2010, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-want-other-people-to-like-the-things-you-like/559398/1 "2010-11-04T01:53:32Z")
I’m thinking of music, books, films, other kinds of art, maybe even places and experiences that are aesthetically special. Do you proselytize about the things you love? Do you want other people to _understand_ why you love them, what makes them great? Do you, in general, want the things you love to become more popular? Or are you fine having more exclusive tastes and experiences–perhaps preferring that your favorites _don’t_ get popular? Have you had the experience of being into something when it was obscure and then seeing it blow up into mass popularity? How did you feel about that? ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2010, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-want-other-people-to-like-the-things-you-like/559398/2 "2010-11-04T01:58:46Z")
I don’t proselytize them. However, yeah, I do want people to like the TV shows and stuff I like. I gave my brother Firefly one time and was really disappointed when he handed it back to me a few weeks later telling me that he “couldn’t follow it”. He told me he figures he should have read the comic first. I have no idea what he was talking about. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2010, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-want-other-people-to-like-the-things-you-like/559398/3 "2010-11-04T04:57:10Z")
I prefer to have slightly esoteric tastes–just enough that there’s a true community of fans, not just a bunch of people who like it. It’s only more polarizing shows that have dedicated followers. ---
**Author:** ![pancakes3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ba9def/32.png) [@pancakes3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pancakes3)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2010, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-want-other-people-to-like-the-things-you-like/559398/4 "2010-11-04T05:01:19Z")
it’s definitely the understanding. if i can understand their point of view, i’m ok with it. it’s when things are out of my realm of comprehension that i get really worked up. ---
**Author:** ![installLSC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/54ee81/32.png) [@installLSC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/installLSC)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2010, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-want-other-people-to-like-the-things-you-like/559398/5 "2010-11-04T05:18:50Z")
I’ve tried to sell my friends or coworkers on many acts (Regina Spektor, She and Him, Kate Nash) that aren’t quite mainstream but certainly not avant garde. They never seem to like them so I’ve stopped trying. I do want acts I like to become mainstream. With so much garbage on mainstream radio, it does kinda upset me that these talented artists can’t get much attention. I think of eras like the 60s and the 90s when the best stuff was much more likely to get into the mainstream and think why not now? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Universe\_Lashes\_Out](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8797f3/32.png) [@The\_Universe\_Lashes\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Universe_Lashes_Out)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2010, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-want-other-people-to-like-the-things-you-like/559398/6 "2010-11-04T05:20:44Z")
If it’s something I know they really would like, I do enjoy exposing them to something new. In my case it’s primarily music. But I am well aware that most people do not enjoy the same bands I do, so most of the time I’m quiet about it. Even with people that share a lot of my tastes, I’m pretty good at figuring out what specific tastes we have in common, and recommending accordingly. But yeah, it is fun to turn people on to music they might not have otherwise heard. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2010, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-want-other-people-to-like-the-things-you-like/559398/7 "2010-11-04T05:34:25Z")
Not really. I do have one friend who refuses to watch or read things based on what she’s heard about it, because she _knows_ she wouldn’t like it. Since I have often been wrong when I’ve done this myself, it makes me crazy that she’s so judgmental. On the occasion she does watch or read them afterward, her opinion never changes, but I suspect it’s because she’s determined not to like it and isn’t giving it a fair chance. So there have been times she’s refused to follow my recommendation because she read an article about said book/movie/TV show and she already knows she won’t like it and the opinion that I have that I think she might actually enjoy it is worth nothing. But other than that, I don’t care if people don’t like what I like. If I do like something a lot, I can always seek out other people who also enjoy it so I can talk about it. Thanks, Internet! ---
**Author:** ![Bakhesh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3da27b/32.png) [@Bakhesh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bakhesh)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2010, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-want-other-people-to-like-the-things-you-like/559398/8 "2010-11-04T10:57:13Z")
Usually, I want things I like to become popular and mainstream, as I think the artist deserves greater recognition, and there is also something nice in saying “oh, I’ve been in to them for ages”… …but once they actually become mainstream, I normally find myself going off them. I like having obscure tastes. Or, put it another way… [http://musinginharmonic.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/music\_snob\_venn\_diagram-750009-750057.jpg](http://musinginharmonic.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/music_snob_venn_diagram-750009-750057.jpg)