Cringe culture is a newly developed term defined as a group of people who target others to make fun of for their interests, according to Urban Dictionary.
With this in mind, what exactly makes something cringe? According to Psychology Today, cringe is usually brought about by someone’s actions that are often shared on social media. These actions cause a domino effect of second-hand embarrassment to those watching.
Cringe culture is the aftermath of these actions. Once someone’s actions cause those watching to cringe, a general assumption of the things that person is associated with is created. These stereotypes then move forward to be generalized to a group of people for enjoying or expressing similar things.
Television and digital media production sophomore Kayla Muter saw herself as the stereotypical cringey middle schooler. She discovered the alternative emo style in middle school as a way of self-expression. Unfortunately, this style made her a target of bullying. Eventually, it all became too much, and she decided that fitting in was the best option.
“I started to hide what I liked, and my whole personality. For two years I was not myself,” Muter said. “I didn’t get back into my interests again until my freshman year of high school.”
Thanks to the time Muter had to reflect on herself during COVID-19, she decided that the things that bring her happiness, such as “My Little Pony” and “My Hero Academia,” were something she shouldn’t have to be made fun of for. Although these assumptions will continue to follow her around for liking and associating with certain fandoms, she’s decided to ignore them and turn the term against those poking fun at her.
“I think hating someone because they’re different than you is cringe,” Muter said. “Get inspired, find yourself and I promise you’ll be much happier.”
It’s not just fandoms that are considered cringe-worthy. Content creation is a big one, even though the role of content creator is more widespread in the past decade, it isn’t always viewed in a positive light.
Integrative studies senior Jordan Bos has been posting on the popular video app TikTok since 2020. Posting content such as get-ready-with-me’s and shopping hauls, Bos uses her public platform to share and interact with others. With one of her most recent videos gaining over 92,000 views, Bos is no stranger to receiving attention on social media.
However, this attention on a public media platform comes with its risks. Not only is Bos posting content for everyone to view, but sometimes the embarrassment comes with those she knows in person coming across her account.
“It makes me feel weird when people I know find my account, I don’t care for it. However, if people find my content, they find my content and with a public account it’s not like I have anything to hide,” Bos said.
Even for those who aren’t posting their interests and hobbies on public accounts, judgment from others can still find them.
Design junior Abby Keown has been told her music taste is cringe. Since becoming a K-pop fan, she has gotten her fair share of weird looks from others.
“When I like a certain thing and [explain] my interests, people give me a weird look. I’ve discovered that it’s really what you say after that counts,” Keown said.
After attending K-Pop concerts where the audience barked at performers, Keown began to understand why the fandom gets a bad reputation. After scrolling Reddit after her first concert, she discovered that the barking from the audience was a way of calling performers “hot and attractive.” Keown, who enjoys K-Pop music for the beats, choreography and music videos, often cringes at the fact that fans obsess and sexualize performers.
“One thing that comes to mind is cosplaying from certain fandoms, but it’s mostly the people. Most of the cosplayers from these fandoms are not bad at all, they’re friendly and super nice. It’s just the one or two people that give everybody a bad name,” Keown said.
While we all, as human beings, experience what it’s like to find something cringe-worthy. We should all reflect on how happy our interests make us. With this reflection, we should all ask ourselves the same question, If what you enjoy doesn’t harm others or yourself, why does it matter?