There are two ways to watch “The Bachelor.”

The first is, in “Bachelor” parlance, to be swept away on the “journey” and suspend any disbelief that suitors are “here for the right reasons.” For most viewers, though, the only way to sit through a two-hour episode is to accept the polyamorous spectacle as one big social experiment.

It’s hard to imagine that the millions of intelligent women (and men) who tune into the show are sold on its premise. Yet many of them consumed six hours of “Bachelor” programming per week this month. That’s not including the time they spent reading recaps, listening to “Bachelor”-adjacent podcasts or scrolling through contestants’ Instagram feeds.

Just as the internet can act as a (very dangerous) political echo chamber, it can also function as a “Bachelor” hall of mirrors, wherein the franchise’s offshoots become unavoidable. In turn, immersing oneself in Bachelor Nation can be accidental.