‘The pleasure of a chancer unmasked’: why we are living in the age of schadenfreude
Watching the misfortunes of Boris Johnson or Novak Djokovic is deliciously satisfying – and unmistakably human. But is it wrong to submit to our basest instincts?
No one is especially shy about the anger theyfeel about the partygate shambles in Downing Street, nor should they be. We are all a bit more discreet, though, about how enjoyable it is to watch the prime minister’s downfall. It hits every base of funny, from the slapstick to the surreal; a comedy home run. But there is something delicious here that is richer than humour. To see a chancer unmasked is a very particular pleasure.
Likewise, I would happily give you my thoughts on the international tennis elite and their stance on vaccination. But why it was so droll to see Novak Djokovic detained in and then deported from Australia I would struggle to say; I never had anything against the man.
Such is schadenfreude, the piquant German compound at once so broad and so precise. It is usually defined as the taking of pleasure in another’s misfortune. You don’t have to know them personally; indeed, sometimes it is better not to. The unfortunate object doesn’t have to deserve their lot, although it is so much more enjoyable when they do that we will often reverse-engineer our perceptions to make them deserve it. The most similar words in English are probably “gloating” and “crowing”, but those convey a vocalised delight. Schadenfreude is more of a private pleasure, which we would prefer not to admit.
Presently, of course, we don’t have to say it out loud, since we are all feeling the same thing at the same time. Welcome to the age of collective schadenfreude – the global in-joke.
On the one hand, this is a wonderful thing, the first green shoots of social harmony. On the other, “it is a kind of sadistic joy”, says Dr Aaron Balick, a psychoanalyst and the author of The Psychodynamics of Social Networking. “If you allow yourself enough empathy and compassion, you’re not going to be able to enjoy it.” So, can anything positive come out of our basest instincts?
The most recent thinking about schadenfreude is distilled in a 2019 paper by the academic psychologists Shensheng Wang, Scott Lilienfeld and Philippe Rochat. They argue that there is not one force at play here, but three. . ."
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