User:Rockford the Roe/Fork:Cringe culture



One of the cardinal sins of the internet is Liking A Thing.

Cringe culture is a cult following on the internet where participants are obsessed with people doing things considered "cringeworthy". Similar to the following of Lowcows, most of the targets usually have traits that are not within the scope of the status quo (i.e. LGBT, Autistic, Enjoys childish things, Social rejects, etc.). It started innocently enough to give different lifestyles a platform but i eventually devolved into these communities having a superiority complex over the people they cringe about.

Fortunately, cringe culture is beginning to decline and many are speaking out against it.

History
People go on there to feel better about themselves by judging other people. That's shitty behaviour, full stop. The mods hiding behind good intentions doesn't make the behaviour of the subscribers any less shitty.

Cringe culture was spawned from r/cringe, created by Reddit user drumcowski. While its founder intended forum users to have empathy for the people targeted by its posts, the subreddit became a hotspot for harassing individuals that are subjected to other users' posts. Drumcowski refuses to shut down the subreddit for fear that worse alternatives would overtake it.

Cringe culture has spread to other social media websites. YouTube is full of cringe compilations, while Instagram "flop" accounts post pictures of other people's work so that they can be mocked en masse.

Common targets

 * Drawings by children
 * Autistic people either getting excited about something or having meltdowns
 * Queer people (usually teens) using microlabels, neopronouns, or other unusual terms
 * Transgender people who don't "pass," aren't "feminine"/"masculine" enough, or are outspoken about their transitions
 * Asexuals
 * Adults who like "childish" things
 * Conversely, young people who like music, movies, or pop culture from previous generations ("Le Wrong Generation")
 * Otherkin and therians
 * Marie Kondo (How dare she cheerfully teach people how they can get organized?)
 * Furries

Overall, it just boils down to "How dare someone do something I don't like on the internet?!!?!"