I don't have any problem at all believing Ryan and Farrah are jerks.
I am a drug addict (currently clean but with a history of relapse and returning to drug abuse) and I am just always interested when people consider drug addicts losers. It's a common perception (though not my own) and I don't take it personally - it just interests me.
I think addiction destroys families from the inside out - certainly it has done a number on this family - and I think that it is sad. As arrogant and obnoxious as this family has always seemed to me, I come from a family that has struggled mightily with addiction and so I have always felt a lot of compassion for them (Ryan, et al).