SCHADENFREUDE: ENJOYING THE MISERY OF OTHERS

Do you like waiting in line at the grocery store checkout?  I do, because I can laugh at the latest “made up” news.  Examples: Kate and Camilla hate each other.  Hillary has brain cancer. Catherine Zeta Jones tried to commit suicide.  Harry is sick of Meghan and is going to dump her.  George Clooney and his wife had a knock down fight at the royal wedding and are getting a divorce. 

Sometimes I think it would be fun to sit around with a bunch of other writers and dream up crazy ideas for juicy stories about celebrities.

What really amazes me is that these tabloids are  pricey.  And yet, they’re sold in dollar stores , drug stores and supermarkets, which  means ordinary people are willing to waste five bucks to read a bunch of fantasy stories, and the entire paper can be read in five minutes (or less, while you’re waiting in a long line and don’t have to pay for it.)

Usually, the tabloids are full of bad news. Someone is getting a divorce, or committing adultery, or had a terrible face lift.   It seems the general public has an insatiable appetite for schadenfreude (German word for enjoying other’s misfortune) Your own life may be boring or full or stress and you might not have enough on your debit card to pay for everything in your cart. To make things worse  when you’re standing in line, you might feel a twinge of envy when you see pictures of  successful  beautiful people.  But wait, here’s a story about some movie’s star’s nervous breakdown.  It seems there is an endless market for stories of misery and downfall. If there aren't any this week, the tabloids can just make something up, because they know that everyone loves to gloat  over the misfortunes of  the rich and famous.