There's a sick stigma that if you "use" critics, you are incapable of forming your own opinions. That's just dense. I'll listen to/watch whatever I like and form an opinion myself, but I enjoy reading critics sometimes to see their insight.
Obviously critics aren't going to change my opinion but they may influence whether I bother watching a movie or not although there are movies I like which haven't done well critically. I don't use when it comes to music.
