I don't think you need to watch Discovery to enjoy Strange New Worlds. There might be a few things established in the lore/backstory from Discovery, but any "confusion" from those references will quickly dissipate. SNW makes it easy to see it as a distinct show in a new/expanded telling of a known crew/time.

I will add that there will be stylistic choices in the production that will take a little getting used to, but remember that just about every Star Trek show has done this. Enjoy the story!

Absolutely not. SNW stands on its own quite well. Sure, watching Disco will fill in some details for you, but SNW covers the key points by itself. You will not be left scratching your head if you watch SNW without watching Disco.

No, there's an offhand mention or two, but nothing impactful. The most important tie is Pike being aware of his fate, but they recap that pretty thoroughly.

I have never seen Discovery and SNW is very enjoyable. I am sure I am missing context, but I don't think it is significant enough to make Discovery mandatory.

No, while watching S2 of Discovery will give you a bit of context, it won't make SNW not understandable if you don't.

The light does seem brighter after walking in the dark for a while, but SNW is bright enough by itself, so you don’t need to torture yourself with STD before.

Not only do you not need to catch up with Disco, but the end of season 2 of Disco doesn't dovetail to the beginning of Strange New Worlds super-well when you watch them back-to-back; if anything, they feel like they lightly contradict each other.

Though if I were to recommend a single episode it would be "Through the Valley of Shadows" from season 2, which is probably the only "important" episode as far as Strange New Worlds goes, though the key stuff gets recapped in SNW.

The Short Treks episode Q&A gets some references in the series too, though if you don't watch it you likely won't realize you missed anything.

No. I didnt enjoy Discovery yet I've enjoyed SNW. You dont need to know much on Discovery to get into SNW anyway.

I think the first episode of SNW will hook you. So good.

Yes. Not all of it, just the first 2 seasons. People saying no are forgetting Pike learning something about himself in Discovery is basically his prime motivator throughout SNW. It is a fundamental pillar of his character.

Spock has some important backstory in Disco as well. Good for general star trek edification but not necessary to enjoy spock as a character in SNW.

I've only watched the first episode of seasons 1 and 3 of Discovery I wanted to like it but I kept falling asleep. I tried a few times.

I watched all of Strange New Worlds and only fell asleep during one episode which I rewatced later without trouble. I highly recommend SNW.

PS: I'm under 50 and yes my metric for judgement when it comes to TV is "would I rather be sleeping?"

There is backstory established in DIS season 2 that carry-over into SNW.

I watched Discovery after finishing SNW season 2.

That first season of Discovery was rough but season 2 gets going right and proper. I hated Saru but now they're my GOAT.

I say watch one episode of each.

Nope! I saw all of SNW before I watched discovery. Very different shows for sure. Definitely watch both!