Issue #15: How 'Cringe' Culture Is Killing Your Personality

05/03/2026

Have you ever seen one of those videos where the video is the most innocent thing ever but the comments are on the lines of “Grow up," “Cringe,” and “Bring bullying back”? Let me start with saying:

Cringe Culture Has to Die.

But what’s cringe culture in the first place? Why is it bad? Is it true that we should “bring back bullying”? And why should you care?

What Is Cringe Culture?

Cringe culture is the habit of publicly shaming people for expressing themselves sincerely. Whether it's dressing however they want or sharing the music they like; it’s pointing at someone’s interests and personality and declaring it "embarrassing" or "weird", often done with the goal of feeling superior. I myself have been a victim of this. I dress too childish for my age, too many pastel colours, ruffled skirts, cute dresses; people make fun of me for it. Does it affect me? Yes. Will I stop dressing the way I dress? Hell no.

What cringe culture does is punish authenticity, making fun of ‘weird’ behaviors and people’s genuine interests, and by doing so, they create way more insecurities that shouldn’t exist in the first place, so it has to die. Especially when people mark it as “healthy criticism”, but deep down it’s really only bullying, because, let’s be real. Calling someone cringe helps no one. Raising the offender’s ego by an insignificant amount? Probably. Does it show how insecure said offender is? A lot.

Where It Originated and when

Cringe culture originated on websites like 4chan and Reddit in the 2000s, where anonymity was the norm and removed consequences. It started to take shape in the early 2010s with internet forums, reaction content, and social media platforms, where mocking other people (and even yourself!) was a quick way to gain internet fame and clicks, but it really became a massive thing later and still is now, in the 2020s, with viral places like TikTok. Basically, the internet turns people being who they are into something "embarrassing" for their entertainment.

Why That’s Bullshit

The problem is simple: cringe culture is lazy and cruel. It doesn’t critique something important, it only targets individuals. Most of the time, the people who they call “cringe” aren’t hurting anyone, they’re just awkward or different.

Calling something or someone cringe is often just saying, “they are being themselves, and I’m scared of that”. It’s insecurity hiding behind comments or posts.

And worse, it teaches people to kill parts of themselves before someone else does.

Build Your Own Personality

In this day and age, almost everyone has a reference point to build their personality off. Whether it’s a pop idol, an underground fashion scene or your favorite artist on Twitter, your own personality is most likely not unique. But the point here is not to be “the only person that does x”, “the only person to listen to x”, or “the only person that dresses x”, because that’s impossible, but instead being able to like xyz things together, without fearing judgement.

Unfortunately, though, society tends to pinpoint something as “the norm” (whether it’s getting the last model of some smartphone or expecting teenage girls to wear a full face of makeup to school), and the second someone differs from this ‘norm’, the pressure they face from their own peers (which let’s be real, most of the times it’s just bullying) leads them to self-censorship, that is most (if not all) of the time pretty damaging to one’s sense of self.

You shouldn't base your personality, style or music taste on trends or viral things. They move too fast to mean anything, they exist to be consumed and discarded. You’re allowed to like things. Just don’t like them because a stranger with a brand deal told you they’re cool today.

Let your style be messy, let it contradict itself.

Do What You Want. Be You.

The most interesting people are the ones who feel like they don't need approval. They might appear a bit intense or a bit odd, maybe a little too into whatever it is they love. But that's fun! Isn't it? Trend-chasing makes hollow people anyways, and those same hollow people end up being the people nitpicking on other people’s behavior, telling them that they’re not doing x thing to be part of something or whatever. (Looking at you, self-proclaimed “true punks” on TikTok…)

The Overlap Between Cancel and Cringe Culture

Cancel culture and cringe culture have one thing in common: they’re both about humiliation. If you don’t know, “canceling” someone is, long story short, withdrawing support to something or someone. While in most cases, canceling (or put more simply, calling out) someone actually brings attention to what someone has said or done, but most of the time I think it’s actually another excuse to bully someone for something they didn’t even do, as the line between accountability and humiliation often blur.

Overall, we need more sincerity in this world full of copies. It takes courage to be you, and even more courage to recognize that you're going to be seen; maybe even judged. However, nothing feels as good as being yourself.

- Cadence