by Jennifer Haynie @JenniferHaynie1

The song came on the radio last summer. The beat was great. It made me want to dance, or go lift weights. Which was what I did. Lift weights, that is. The next time it came on, the lyrics hit me upside the head. They were awful! But I still liked the song. A guilty pleasure, it was.

Steve and I have also started watching Live PD on Friday and Saturday nights. An interesting show, and one where I can pull out my needlepoint and work to my heart’s content. We joked last night that it was a guilty pleasure. Was it?

What are guilty pleasures?

They’re hard to define. I think my definition would be something that I like to do, listen to, watch, or consume that would surprise—or shock—other people.

We all have them. Most likely, the past few weeks of having to stay at home have revealed more than we care to share with anyone.

Why do we keep guilty pleasures a secret?

We keep guilty pleasures a secret for many reasons. We don’t want to be judged. We may be embarrassed that someone would laugh at us. Worst case, we know a guilty pleasure is bad for us, and we don’t want anyone to come out and tell us it’s bad, so we keep it a secret

That begs another question.

Are guilty pleasures good or bad?

It depends.

Before you roll your eyes at my answer, hear me out.

Some can be harmless. If I were a guy and liked to watch sappy movies, that’s pretty much harmless. Or like with Steve and me watching Live PD. Harmless, even bonding since we offer our own commentary throughout the program.

What about that song I mentioned? Bad. The lyrics are horrible, even to the point where, though I like the beat, I need to remove it from my lifting playlist.

When to Worry

It’s okay to have guilty pleasures. As I mentioned earlier, we all have them, and some are downright silly. Say, we like to snarf a quart of cookies and cream when no one’s around.

It’s when they become an idol, or when they start impacting our relationships with others that they can become bad.

For example, if someone starting looking at explicit ads on the Internet, it could morph into something worse like porn. Or even without morphing, it could start impacting relationships and take over a person’s life. When that happens, it moves from a guilty pleasure into an addiction.

Overall, guilty pleasures can range widely from silly to serious. If silly, we can laugh about them with others. If serious, then we need to expose them for what they are and deal with them.

Question: What is a silly guilty pleasure you may have?