The humour in cringe culture

‘Cringe’ has a strong hold on digital platforms. Being ‘cringe’ was an integral part of the relaunch of musica.ly into TikTok, and now entire accounts are dedicated to reposting ‘cringe’ videos. It’s not just faceless accounts, either. Trends reenacting embarrassing events or traits are considered ‘cringeworthy’. Is being ‘cringe’ simply a trending form of humour, or is it something more sinister?

The popularity of cringe culture reflects our social attitudes and how we, as a generation, have become so used to the idea of being watched and restricting our behaviour

‘Cringe’ has always been something to describe uncomfortable humour; for example, it is somewhat shocking and can make you squirm even as you laugh. However, it is not a new humour or comedy phenomenon as it dates back to Victorian freak shows, Shakespeare, Bart Baker parodies, and The Office. This ‘cringe’ humour and people’s reactions to it are not new, but as with most things involving Gen-Z, we have been more exposed to it because we grew up with more digital access than any previous generation. If you’ve been on social media, you have probably seen the ‘cringe’ genre. Although cringe is no longer limited to invented characters, its essence has not changed. At its core, it will always be a form of social policing. However, it is worth considering the impact its popularity has on Gen-Z.

Gen-Z has become a very socially conservative generation; by this, I mean that our behaviour is very socially restricted. While social rules have always existed, Gen-Z has grown up uniquely exposed to the invisible enforcement of these rules. We are all distinctly aware that we are constantly being watched. In 2023, it was indicated that as many as 1.5 billion cameras exist worldwide, and it would only make sense that this number would continue to rise. Every smartphone has at least one camera; these cameras are carried by nearly everyone you meet and provide a way to make anything you do permanent and easy to share with others. This creates a more obvious form of punishment and exposure if you act outside of what is expected of you. We already see this in cringe with people who simply exist in public and are then filmed and posted online without their consent or knowledge.

Of course, we are going to laugh at people and enjoy the strange discomfort it brings; of course, we are going to feel grateful that we are not one of those people posted on a cringe account being publicly shamed for who we are

The genre of ‘cringe’ videos has a list of behaviours and traits that are meant to be laughed at. Philosopher Thomas Hobbes proposed a theory about the superiority of laughter, suggesting that laughter is a tool that socially reinforces a dynamic between inferiority and superiority. Although I do not think this is true in all cases of laughter, I do think this is true for the phenomenon of ‘cringe’ humour. The popularity of cringe culture reflects our social attitudes and how we, as a generation, have become so used to the idea of being watched and restricting our behaviour. In theory, social media should be a mirror to reality; however, at the moment, it is the reverse. Social media and ‘cringe’ accounts isolate traits and habits and arbitrarily deem them unacceptable. Each video has an undertone that warns people: “If you are like this, you deserve to be laughed at and become a social pariah.”

Once again, this behaviour is not new, nor is it unique to Gen-Z. I do not think we are worse people than any other generation. Even in the 17th century, Thomas Hobbes thought so poorly of people that he considered all laughter a social weapon to make people feel bad about themselves. He definitely sucked way more than your average Gen-Z cringe watcher. But I think we should be aware of becoming too used to cringe culture. Of course, we are going to laugh at people and enjoy the strange discomfort it brings; of course, we are going to feel grateful that we are not one of those people posted on a cringe account being publicly shamed for who we are. None of this is a new attitude or new behaviour, but what is new is how frequently we are exposed to it. We need to watch and understand how this is shaping our generation and our everyday lives, and how it will shape future generations. We don’t want to lose our weird.