We’ve all faked enthusiasm for something at some point just to fit in or seem cool.
You’re nodding along like “yes, this is amazing” while internally screaming, “When can I leave?”
The need to belong is so strong that people will literally torture themselves pretending to enjoy things they absolutely hate, so that they don’t feel left out or look uncool.
I’m not judging; I’ve been there, pretending my face off to seem like I’m part of the group.
Here are the most common things people fake enjoyment for, because once you see it, you can’t unsee it.
9 Things People Pretend to Enjoy Just to Feel Among
1. Clubbing and Partying Until Dawn
You know people who are always posting videos from the club at 3 AM, looking like they’re having the time of their lives?
Yeah, half of them want to be in bed. 😂
The music is too loud to have actual conversations…
Your feet hurt from those shoes you wore to look cute…
You’re spending money you don’t have on overpriced drinks…
…and you’re basically just standing in a dark, crowded room waiting for it to be socially acceptable to say you’re tired.
But you can’t admit that clubbing isn’t fun because then you’re boring, or old, or no longer fun.
So you keep showing up, keep pretending that sweating in a packed room with strangers is peak entertainment, and keep posting like it’s the highlight of your week.
Meanwhile, your happiest self is at home in pajamas watching Netflix with snacks.
I’ve never been to a club before, and I don’t intend to.
That’s not my idea of fun.
2. Networking Events
“I love networking!” said no genuine person ever.
Networking events are just forced small talk with strangers while everyone pretends to be more successful than they actually are.
You’re standing there with a drink you’re not even drinking, exchanging business cards with people you’ll never contact, having the same surface-level conversation seventeen times, “So what do you do?”
“Oh interesting, and how long have you been doing that?”
“We should definitely connect!”
No we shouldn’t.
We both know we’re never speaking again after tonight. 😒
But you keep going because you’ve heard motivational speakers and life coaches say”networking is important for your career” and “you never know who you might meet.”
Sure, but you also know you’d rather be literally anywhere else.
3. Certain “Sophisticated” Foods
Oysters.
Let me start with oysters.
If we’re being sincere, oysters look like something you’d find in a tissue after a bad cold, yet people slurp them down at fancy restaurants pretending they’re delicious.
“Mmm, so fresh, you can taste the ocean!”
Yes, because it tastes like salty seawater and slime.
Same energy with blue cheese that smells like feet and extremely bitter coffee that tastes like punishment.
And there’s the overly dry wine that makes your mouth feel like the Sahara Desert.
People consume these things at social gatherings, smiling and nodding while they can’t wait to get real food.
But admitting you don’t like “sophisticated” foods makes you seem unsophisticated, so everyone keeps pretending that suffering through acquired tastes is enjoyable.
4. Reading Classic Literature
Don’t come for me, but we all know someone whose bookshelf is filled with classics they pretend to have read or enjoyed.
“Oh yes, I absolutely loved Moby Dick, such a masterpiece.”
Bestie, you struggled through 50 pages and used SparkNotes for the rest.
Look, some classics are genuinely good, but let’s not pretend that every old, “important” book is actually enjoyable to read.
Some of them are boring, unnecessarily long, and written in language that makes you feel like you’re decoding ancient texts.
But people display them prominently, reference them in conversations, and act like every page enthralled them because intelligence is often measured by which books you’ve suffered through. 😂
5. Extremely Spicy Food
There’s always that person at dinner challenging everyone to try the spiciest thing on the menu, and everyone agrees because nobody wants to look weak.
So you’re sitting there, mouth on fire, sweating through your shirt, crying actual tears, but still saying “it’s not that bad” because admitting defeat means you’re not tough enough.
Enjoying spicy food is fine.
Pretending to enjoy pain levels of spice to prove something doesn’t make sense.
6. Minimalism and Decluttering
Everyone’s suddenly a minimalist now, posting their empty, beige rooms with three items of furniture and a single plant, acting like owning things is a moral failing.
“I’m so much happier with less!”
Are you though, sis?
Or did TikTok convince you that joy comes from having an apartment that looks like a show home nobody actually lives in?
Some people genuinely enjoy minimalism, but a lot of people are just performing it for aesthetic points while their actual stuff is shoved in closets and storage units.
They’re not happier with less.
They’re just stressed about maintaining an Instagram-worthy space that doesn’t reflect how humans actually live.
7. Morning Workouts
“I love waking up at 5 AM to work out, it sets my whole day up perfectly!”
No you don’t.
You hate it.
Your body hates it.
Your alarm even hates that you set it.
But you keep doing it because productive/successful people supposedly wake up at dawn to exercise, and you don’t want to be the lazy person who works out at normal human hours.
So you drag yourself out of bed while it’s still dark, suffer through a workout while you’re half asleep, and then spend the whole day telling people you worked out this morning because if you suffered, everyone needs to know about it.
Meanwhile, your body is begging you to sleep and work out at 6 PM like a normal person.
8. Meditation and Wellness Routines
Looks like everyone’s got a morning routine now…
Journaling, meditation, manifestation, green smoothies, gratitude practices, ice baths, the whole wellness influencer starter pack…
If these things genuinely help you, great.
But a lot of people are doing all of this because it looks good on social media and makes them seem like they’ve got their life together.
Not because they actually enjoy sitting still for 20 minutes trying not to think about their to-do list.
They’re forcing themselves through elaborate morning routines that take two hours when they could just… sleep more and have coffee like a regular human.
But regular doesn’t get engagement, so here we are, pretending that waking up at 5 AM to meditate, journal, and drink celery juice is transformative and not just exhausting. 🙄
9. Being Busy All The Time
This is a very common one.
People pretend that being constantly busy and exhausted is something to aspire to.
“I’m so busy, I haven’t had a free weekend in months!”
That’s not a flex, that’s a cry for help.
But we’ve made busyness into a status symbol, so people pack their schedules, overcommit to everything, run themselves into the ground, and then brag about it like not having time to breathe means you’re important and successful.
Nobody actually enjoys being too busy to rest, see friends, enjoy hobbies, or have downtime.
But admitting you have free time makes you sound lazy or unsuccessful, so everyone keeps pretending that burnout is aspirational.
Stop torturing yourself for social acceptance.
If you hate clubbing, stay home.
You’re not boring, you know what you actually enjoy.
If you don’t like oysters, don’t eat them.
Life’s too short for food that makes you gag.
If networking events drain your soul, find other ways to build connections.
And if your ideal morning involves sleeping until 8 and having coffee in bed, do that instead of forcing yourself to meditate at dawn.
Be honest about what you enjoy, even if it’s not cool or Instagram-worthy.
The right people will like you for who you are, not for who you’re pretending to be.
And the wrong people are probably too busy pretending to enjoy things they hate to notice anyway.
Know this and know peace.