Current:Home > MyTaylor Swift, Travis Kelce and finding happiness and hatred all at once -VisionFunds
Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce and finding happiness and hatred all at once
Ethermac View
Date:2025-04-06 12:42:50
Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce are adorable – or they're cringey? They're beautiful – or they're repulsive? They're giving you hope – or they're making you feel lonelier than ever?
When happy couples hold hands, share a smooch, make heart hands and more, people on the sidelines form opinions about their interactions. Some are positive and supportive. But often people pass judgement and have negative thoughts while watching a happy couple be, well, happy. Why?
"She’s a woman supporting her boyfriend, just as he’s supported her," one mom of a Swiftie wrote in a public Facebook post. "Maybe it’s love that will last, maybe it won’t, but can’t we be hopeful and happy for someone else’s happiness?"
Experts say your take on happy pairs, like Swift and Kelce, may reveal way more about you than the couple in question.
"Our tendency to be happy for others or experience jealousy is strongly related to how we are experiencing our lives and relationships in the present," says Miranda Nadeau, a licensed psychologist.
Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce and finding joy in 'Swelce'
Maybe you're one of those people who can't stop gushing over Swelce or a couple more close to home.
"How people react to seeing other's joy and happiness is very telling," says Maryanne Fisher, a psychology professor at St. Mary's University in Canada. "Some people are genuinely happy at seeing other's (including celebrities) happiness." You might be feeling "freudenfreude," or "a vicarious experience of another's joy – think opposite to schadenfreude, where one gets pleasure from another person's misfortunes," Fisher adds.
If you are a Swiftie, you may feel this more pronounced. "It is likely that the effect is increased when we feel a connection with the person involved, which fans may certainly experience with celebrities," Fisher says. "This sharing of joy has all sorts of positive effects; it makes us believe things are positive and good, and relatedly decreases stress and the associated cortisol hormone."
Are you 'unconsciously projecting?'
On the flip-side: Finding yourself feeling bitter?
"It could stem from displeasure in one's own life – for example, secretly thinking that one's own relationship is unsatisfying may lead to them feeling deep-seated envy toward those who express affection, and this envy may be presented as low-grade anger, or displeasure," Fisher says. You may also experience fear of never finding love of your own, or fear of betrayal from a now-distracted friend.
Dig deeper:The Taylor Swift jokes have turned crude. Have we learned nothing?
It's easy to see yourself in other people – especially when they're as famous as Swift and Kelce, who likely have no connection in your life beyond the parasocial. Maybe you're a Swiftie, but in one of your sad girl eras.
"A lot of people may be unconsciously projecting," says Cecille Ahrens, a licensed clinical social worker. "We often project our fears and desires out into the world. We also tend to displace our feelings, our unmeet needs, our grievances onto the wrong people. (Swift and Kelce) are great targets for these defense mechanisms."
These reactions, too, could mean you're living with a scarcity or abundance mindset. "With a scarcity mindset, we may believe on some level that happiness or love are finite and limited, and that someone else being happy means we're that much more unlikely to experience similar joy ourselves," Nadeau says. Social or financial circumstances might affect how you look at the world and prompt this attitude.
As for an abundance mindset: "We're more likely to be happy for others in their contentment," Nadeau adds. "There's no threat to us or our attainment of love and satisfaction. And it's a lot easier to be happy for others when we're in loving, generous, exciting relationships ourselves."
Cuffing season has arrived.Don't jump into a relationship just because it's here.
Or maybe it's not that serious
It's possible to oscillate between feelings – to begin accepting others' love stories even when you are jealous – though it's easier said than done to adjust your mindset. "Still, we can deepen our sense of what we do have in our lives and grow our abundance mindset by practicing gratitude," Nadeau says. "Feeling deep appreciation for what we already have helps us to want the best for others too."
Your feelings may not signal any kind of deeper trauma to work through, either.
"Someone who does not really care about someone could just think it's sweet to see happy people and leave it at that," Fisher says. "Also, we need to remember that it can also mean that they really did not like the person to start with, and the change of events has just simply given them a way to express this dislike. It's hard to believe, but not everyone is a Swiftie."
Seriously:The Taylor Swift jokes have turned crude. Have we learned nothing?
veryGood! (81)
Related
- Federal court filings allege official committed perjury in lawsuit tied to Louisiana grain terminal
- A state trooper pleaded guilty to assaulting teens over a doorbell prank. He could face prison time
- Lonton Wealth Management Center: The impact of previous FOMC rate hikes on global financial markets
- Who won the $1.3 billion Powerball jackpot in Oregon? We might know soon. Here's why.
- 'We're reborn!' Gazans express joy at returning home to north
- Colorado Skier Dallas LeBeau Dead at 21 After Attempting to Leap 40 Feet Over Highway
- Kansas City Chiefs WR Rashee Rice surrenders to police, released on bond
- Costco is selling lots of gold; should you be buying? How this gold rush impacts the market
- Realtor group picks top 10 housing hot spots for 2025: Did your city make the list?
- Ethics Commission member resigns after making campaign contributions
Ranking
- Charges tied to China weigh on GM in Q4, but profit and revenue top expectations
- Wild prints, trendy wear are making the Masters the center of the golf fashion universe
- Maryland program to help Port of Baltimore businesses retain employees begins
- Prosecutors: South Carolina prison supervisor took $219,000 in bribes; got 173 cellphones to inmates
- A Mississippi company is sentenced for mislabeling cheap seafood as premium local fish
- Tearful Isabella Strahan Details Painful Third Brain Surgery Amid Cancer Battle
- If O.J. Simpson’s assets go to court, Goldman, Brown families could be first in line
- DeSantis bans local governments from protecting workers from heat and limits police oversight boards
Recommendation
Romantasy reigns on spicy BookTok: Recommendations from the internet’s favorite genre
Teaching refugee women to drive goes farther than their destination
Lonton Wealth Management Center: Wealth appreciation and inheritance
Shaping future investment leaders:Lonton Wealth Management Cente’s mission and achievements
Nearly 400 USAID contract employees laid off in wake of Trump's 'stop work' order
Colorado Skier Dallas LeBeau Dead at 21 After Attempting to Leap 40 Feet Over Highway
Shaping future investment leaders:Lonton Wealth Management Cente’s mission and achievements
Prosecutors: South Carolina prison supervisor took $219,000 in bribes; got 173 cellphones to inmates