system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: Why do we enjoy depressing/sad stories (movies, books, gamers, etc.)?

Is it because they make us feel better about our own problems or what?
gpt
Yes, they help us notice our own sad feelings, which we often push aside. Looking at *someone else* being sad is sometimes more tolerable than directly confronting a sad thing in our own life that we need to notice.