Popular Things You're Just Not Interested In

[Max Rockatansky]

Considering how the majority of people mask the taste of liquor via mixers I don't think there is much general enthusiasm for the taste.  Me personally, I do enjoy the baseline taste of good whiskey or rum.

[Scott5114]

Movies/TV shows, though if I'm forced to watch one or if I happen to I usually enjoy them. I enjoy music, sports, video games, and YouTube, but just not fictional story content for whatever reasons. I'm not big into reading fiction either.

I am mostly the same way, though I find that when I read fiction I actually enjoy it. It just takes a lot to convince me to start a book, and then once I do I breeze through it.

[JayhawkCO]

Enjoying alcohol for the taste is something that comes in time. When I was in college it was just sweet stuff that I actually thought tasted good. Now I enjoy the taste of the beer/wine/spirit itself. No different than food where when you're young, you tend to not appreciate the taste of vegetables and whatnot unless they're covered up by other flavors. Once you grow up, you can appreciate the flavor of the vegetables themselves.

[kphoger]

drinking alcohol for the taste. When I drink it's always with friends and I drink to feel the affect. I don't enjoy the taste of most alcohol, besides some seltzers and hard ciders.

Enjoying alcohol for the taste is something that comes in time. When I was in college it was just sweet stuff that I actually thought tasted good. Now I enjoy the taste of the beer/wine/spirit itself.

I think there's some confusion going on here—or, more properly, some conflation.

'Alcohol' can refer to the drink as a whole, or it can refer to the ethanol itself.

Now, the ethanol does add a flavor of its own to a beverage, and therefore it contributes to the overall flavor of the drink, but most people don't go around drinking aftershave or hand sanitizer because they "enjoy alcohol".

There are all sorts of flavor compounds in a spirit along with the ethanol itself, and it's those flavors that I appreciate.  The botanicals infused in gin, the agave plant used to produce mezcal, the wood barrel that held the rum, the residual sugar in a bottle of Riesling:  all of these contribute flavors to the final product that people can and do enjoy tasting.  A lemonade is great, but I enjoy the addition of juniper berry flavor from a few ounces of gin and the spiciness of Angostura bitters, for example.

Sometimes, if I'm having a glass of sparkling water, I'll put in a splash of something because I want to flavor the water—not with the alcohol itself but with the other flavors of that spirit.  A couple of ounces of sweet vermouth turns a glass of sparkling water into a much more interesting and flavorful beverage, but the alcohol content plays only a minor role in that transformation.

[JayhawkCO]

I think there's some confusion going on here—or, more properly, some conflation.

My comment was based on "what do you pour out of the can or bottle into your glass". Whether that's beer, wine, or liquor, most people early on in their drinking "journey" only like the flavor of that if it's inherently sweet, hence mixing whiskey with coke or choosing sweet wines vs. a super tannic red. As you get older, you enjoy the flavors of the "base ingredient" more without any sweetness.

[vdeane]

I think there's some confusion going on here—or, more properly, some conflation.

My comment was based on "what do you pour out of the can or bottle into your glass". Whether that's beer, wine, or liquor, most people early on in their drinking "journey" only like the flavor of that if it's inherently sweet, hence mixing whiskey with coke or choosing sweet wines vs. a super tannic red. As you get older, you enjoy the flavors of the "base ingredient" more without any sweetness.

I wonder how much this is related to the seeming trend of many people liking sweets less and less as they get older.

[kphoger]

My comment was based on "what do you pour out of the can or bottle into your glass". Whether that's beer, wine, or liquor, most people early on in their drinking "journey" only like the flavor of that if it's inherently sweet, hence mixing whiskey with coke or choosing sweet wines vs. a super tannic red. As you get older, you enjoy the flavors of the "base ingredient" more without any sweetness.

Oh, I totally agree—though I still don't understand the appeal of vodka.  If I want to drink something "neutral-flavored", then I'll just drink water.

In fact, as you alluded to, that's not unique to alcohol.  Wouldn't the same phenomenon include coffee and pipe tobacco too?

I wonder how much this is related to the seeming trend of many people liking sweets less and less as they get older.

In my experience, it doesn't take very long to lose one's taste for super-sweet things.  Ditch soda for a few months, and then a can of Pepsi will taste cloyingly sweet.

[JayhawkCO]

Oh, I totally agree—though I still don't understand the appeal of vodka.  If I want to drink something "neutral-flavored", then I'll just drink water.

In fact, as you alluded to, that's unique to alcohol.  Wouldn't the same phenomenon include coffee and pipe tobacco too?

Yeah, hence the reason I don't drink vodka. The only time I might drink it is in a bloody mary, but I'd still prefer mezcal or tequila in it instead.

I wonder how much this is related to the seeming trend of many people liking sweets less and less as they get older.

In my experience, it doesn't take very long to lose one's taste for super-sweet things.  Ditch soda for a few months, and then a can of Pepsi will taste cloyingly sweet.

I think it can also come down to people aging and in turn realizing that sweet stuff largely isn't good for you.

[hbelkins]

How am I just now seeing this thread?

Anyway, here's a partial list for me:

Most current popular music (see "Swift, Taylor")
Using marijuana
TikTok
Online gaming
Watching a sporting event just for the sake of watching a sporting event. (If I don't have a rooting interest in the team, I don't care)

[JayhawkCO]

Most current popular music (see "Swift, Taylor") Mostly similar. No pop music appeals, but there are other good bands in other genres.
Using marijuana Maybe a once a year thing for me, and only one puff. No edibles.
TikTok Social media in general is unappealing, but TikTok is the worst.
Online gaming Similar. I used to play video games, but haven't played anything in about 18 years.
Watching a sporting event just for the sake of watching a sporting event. (If I don't have a rooting interest in the team, I don't care) Disagree for me. Soccer matches I can almost always watch. NFL as well. Playoff NBA and NHL are usually interesting.

[kphoger]

Watching a sporting event just for the sake of watching a sporting event. (If I don't have a rooting interest in the team, I don't care)

Me?  I don't understand being a fan of a team that you don't have a personal connection to.  If you didn't go to school at that college, or if you didn't grow up in that city, or whatever, then I don't understand why you'd "have a rooting interest in the team" to begin with.  This means that, for me, the only reason to watch most sporting events is just for the sake of watching them.  Will I care about the game?  No, but I can still enjoy watching the sport of it.

[JayhawkCO]

Watching a sporting event just for the sake of watching a sporting event. (If I don't have a rooting interest in the team, I don't care)

Me?  I don't understand being a fan of a team that you don't have a personal connection to.  If you didn't go to school at that college, or if you didn't grow up in that city, or whatever, then I don't understand why you'd "have a rooting interest in the team" to begin with.  This means that, for me, the only reason to watch most sporting events is just for the sake of watching them.  Will I care about the game?  No, but I can still enjoy watching the sport of it.

I think you can still pick a team to be your team, despite no personal connections. Back in 2008, I had watched the Euros (soccer tourney) and decided I needed to pick a club team to cheer for so I could watch more soccer. I looked at all of the English Premier League teams, knowing I didn't want to just be a fan of the biggest teams (Chelsea, Man U, Arsenal, Liverpool), and decided to pick Tottenham since I knew a couple of the players on the roster, it was based in London, and the uniforms looked cool. Now they're the team of all of my rooting interests that I am most passionate about.

[kphoger]

the uniforms looked cool

I shop by label too. 

[JayhawkCO]

the uniforms looked cool

I shop by label too. 

I mean, it wasn't the MAJOR impetus for picking them, but if you're looking at Tottenham vs. Wolverhampton, which would you pick?

[kphoger]

I mean, it wasn't the MAJOR impetus for picking them, but if you're looking at Tottenham vs. Wolverhampton, which would you pick?

I'm a sucker for bright colors.  And yellow is one of my favorites.

[Roadgeekteen]

I almost prefer watching a sports game I have no rooting interest in. I can actually enjoy the game instead of being a nervous wreck.

[JayhawkCO]

I mean, it wasn't the MAJOR impetus for picking them, but if you're looking at Tottenham vs. Wolverhampton, which would you pick?

I'm a sucker for bright colors.  And yellow is one of my favorites.

I also like bright colors, but the Wolves uniforms are a little garish for me.

[kphoger]

I find that when I read fiction I actually enjoy it. It just takes a lot to convince me to start a book, and then once I do I breeze through it.

I'll read a book in a week, then go six months before starting another one.  Always been like that.

[Rothman]

TikTok Social media in general is unappealing, but TikTok is the worst.

Don't quite understand the TikTok hate, especially from the consumer side.  There's a sort of faith in humanity that can be built when there are so many entertaining people out there.  Proves you don't have to be a celebrity.

But, from the creator side, TikTok is definitely the devil.  It's blatantly cutting off views after a couple of thousand and demanding creators pay up for promotion.

I find privacy concerns still way overblown, especially with all they having to do is kiss the current administration's ring to be brought back online without changing anything about its practices.

[kphoger]

I'm not even interested in knowing about TikTok.  I know it's a social media platform, and I have a general idea that it centers around short videos, but that's all I know, and that's all I care to know.  What makes it the worst ? don't know don't care.  Cutting off views ? don't know don't care.  Kissing the administration's ring ? don't know don't care.

It's a Popular Thing I'm Just Not Interested In.

[Max Rockatansky]

I only know what TikTok is because of the following:

1.  My wife watches it all the time and tried to get me to create an account.
2.  As a Federal employee it was something of a taboo topic the last couple years.
3.  Extended family keeps asking me if highway factoid videos are accurate. 

Item 3 sometimes makes me wonder if there is a viable form of highway media to be had.  I'd be curious to see what kind of ROI the Interstate video ended up getting.

[bugo]

T****r S***t

[bugo]

WWE. AEW is fun, but the kiddy fed is boring and uninteresting.

[bugo]

"Popular" music.

Depends on your definition of "popular".

[bugo]

Religion.