bicker

And that's really the crux of the issue: We all want different things. Our content and service providers aim to give each of us something that gets us to do business with them, but it is very unusual for any one person's personal preferences to be pandered to in a comprehensive manner.

As a matter of fact, the extent to which you are served is to a great extent within your control, but perhaps not in the way you might think (or hope). There is no reason to assume that content and service providers are going to structure what they offer to ensure that you personally are satisfied, but you can make the decision to expand your perspective and come to appreciate more than the comparatively narrow set of programming that you prefer, today.

It's a bit like coming to appreciate cuisines of the world: You start out just liking the food your parents made available to you. Then, you can choose to try (for example) sushi, or kimchee, or biryani, etc. Coming to appreciate jerk chicken, or shark fin soup, etc., doesn't take anything away from your appreciation of (for example) country fried steak, or lasagne, etc., but it does mean that you have a broader scope of food choices that will please you (and isn't being pleased a good part of what enjoying cuisine, or entertainment for that matter, all about?)

The same applies to other leisure contexts. In the realm of reading, I used to read, exclusively, epic fantasy, building on an appreciation fostered by my father introducing me to J. R. R. Tolkien when I was 11. Now, I enjoy reading that genre, mysteries, religious texts, high adventure, even romance novels on occasion. The fact that I appreciate more genres enhances my leisure enjoyment; it doesn't detract from it.

And it is very important to keep one's own personal preferences in their proper perspective. The fact that other people like (for example) reality television (when you don't) doesn't mean that there is something wrong with them, but rather it means that there is an opportunity for enjoying something that you are missing out on. You may not feel, or care to feel, that you're missing out on that, but you are... that's not an value judgment; that's just a statement of the reality. In order to counter that assertion, you would have to contend that people who like things that you don't like are irrational or in some other way mentally deficient, and that type of arrogant perspective is what is actually, itself, irrational.

As I indicated earlier, I have grown tired of reality programming. I stopped watching Survivor after four or five years. I stopped watching the Amazing Race after just one or two seasons. I watched Big Brother for only a few episodes. And so on. However, that is not an indictment of the people who like those shows. In light of the fact that there are programs that I end up recording and then later deleting from my DVR because I didn't have time to watch them, my lack of attention to reality programming is simply a reflection of how many other forms of entertainment I have opened myself up to appreciating. There isn't time (or need) to appreciate everything.

But (and this is the critical point), if you find yourself harboring animosity towards genres or the people who like them, because you feel that there isn't enough of what you enjoy available, then the problem is really within your own set of preferences, i.e., you appreciate too little.