Pessimism Porn

Pessimism porn is the meme of the new year, eh?

Paul Kedrosky, in an op-ed in the Globe and Mail has the best description:

People are revelling [sic] in sending one another scary stories about the awfulness of the current awfulness.

Even better:

The Greater Depression!

Kedrosky has a very good finance/macro blog and has even used pessimism porn to title some posts (here and here).

The original source was an article in The New York Times Magazine, entitled, what else, “Pessimism Porn: A Soft Spot for Hard Times”.

There are lots of players in this mini-industry, but the biggest is probably Nouriel Roubini – a very bright NYU professor whose been preaching financial doom and gloom for … well … since before the last recession. Who knows – maybe he’s right.

So, why the porn metaphor?

I searched for a site that would list the warning signs of porn addiction. I don’t know if they’re good, but they seem reasonable. Here they are:

1. Time - looking at porn is taking up more time and more time. It is no longer just a means to an end.

2. Cost -  looking at porn is beginning to cost you because you are neglecting other areas of life (for example, you're not doing your job properly or your relationships are deteriorating.)

3. Objectification - after a porn session you're looking at everyone in a sexual, porn-filtered way. (In the Friends episode The One With The Free Porn, Chandler realises [sic] he and Joey have to turn off their free porn channel when he goes to the bank and is surprised the teller doesn't ask him to 'do it with her in the vault.' Funny but it reflects the truth.)

4. Desensitisation - in some cases, people find themselves looking at harder and harder porn, even at material which conflcits [sic] with their personal values.

5. Acceptance of the message - wanting to take what you have seen in the fantasy of porn into the reality of your life. (For example, wanting to suggest it to your partner or wanting to join a club or chat room could well be warning signs.)

Now, to turn this around, the signs that someone has a problem with pessimism porn are:

1. Spending a lot of time reading and talking about the bad economic news.
2. Focusing on bad economic news is interfering with other parts of life.
3. Surprise that others aren’t quite as obsessed with the bad economic situation as they “should be”.
4. Worse economic news is rush.
5. Acting on the bad economic news when there isn’t need to.

Does this sound like anyone you know? It sounds like quite a lot that I know.