In Defence of Keeping Up With The Kardashians

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Let's take a moment to admit the Kardashians are interesting.

My love of the Kardashian family began in the early 2010s when I was in high school. At first, it was something mindless to turn on while I did homework. Soon though, it was a topic of conversation at school and online; this was the beginning of social media, so being caught up was essential. But even so, the Kardashian family has a real magnetism (evidenced by their thousands and thousands of viewers).

There are a few different types of Kardashian viewers.

The Hate Watcher enjoys the drama and may even be able to tell the Kardashian women apart on a good day, but they never let you forget that the Kardashian’s are the epitome of all that is wrong with the modern world. The best part about the Hate Watcher is that they hate being reminded that they are still watching.

The Passive Watcher might follow the Kardashians on social media, maybe even reads an article or two when they pass by on Buzzfeed, but they don’t *really* care. The Passive Watcher would never, for instance, comment on Kourtney Kardashian's Instagram, although they might secretly sort of want to.

The final type of viewer is a favourite of mine, maybe because it’s the kind of viewer I am: the Yas Girls. The Yas Girls are devoted Kardashian viewers, followers and patrons of the many K enterprises.

Named so lovingly after their call to arms, “YAAAS girl” they are fun loving, Kardashian loving, Twitter-holics. They probably have a slight shopping addiction (or maybe just me). They are denizens of the consumer age.

('Yas Girls', by the way, is gender-neutral.) They probably own a Kylie lip kit. They definitely know what photo Kim just posted on Instagram and possibly have ideas about what the next Kardashian kid is going to be named. They're invested. 

Let's be real, the best part of Keeping Up With The Kardashians is that while this particular family is drastically different than any family I’ve ever known, they demonstrate that some family dramas are truly universal--like fighting with your siblings over the last Pinkberry, being annoyed with your mom for booking you into two talk show appearances in separate cities on the same day, or having your sibling point out that you just farted in front of the paparazzi. Okay--maybe these issues aren't so universal. But it's still fun to watch!

Let’s face it, no matter what kind of watcher you are, whether you love them, hate them or hate how much you secretly love them, you know who they are. So, next time the Kardashians are in the (celebrity) news, or somebody comments about them at the table next to you in the coffee shop, realise that this bonkers family has ensured that we all have one thing in common: we are all, like it or not, keeping up with the Kardashians.


by Carly Herriges