How Can ‘Cringe Culture’ Reflect A Bias | Cyberbullying

A closer inspection at two of the most common, yet bashed entertainment forms in India reflects a bias that most of us may subconsciously possess.

What is cringe?

The act of cringing is defined as feeling ashamed or embarrassed about something. In the internet era, it is also a slang used to refer to a culture of making fun of people and/or insulting them by calling them "cringy" or "cringe" for doing something which doesn't harm or somehow insult anyone nor anything (Urban Dictionary). Cringe culture creates multiple subgroups: the person who makes content that is considered ‘cringe’, people who experience second-hand embarrassment from the ‘cringe’, and people who create content reacting to the ‘cringe content’, which may sometimes generate revenue sufficient for them to earn a living. 

This propagates a feeling of othering. We have our own internal watchguards that reflect our desire to be accepted by the majority. This results in feelings of discomfort when we see something we perceive will not be socially accepted. Our immediate reaction is to view the content as an anomaly or aberration, which can also lead to us directing hate towards the source. We may also associate cringe with belief that we can never be in the same position as the person(s) involved. Therefore, in our minds, the discomfort or hate is justified as we have dehumanised the ‘other’, distanced ourselves and limited our empathy.

Many of us do not realise the implicit meaning of our emotions, or even the consequences of cringe culture. The result: a self perpetuating cycle of shaming cultures which have already suffered marginalisation offline. 

Does cringe reflect a bias?

Two of the most common entertainment forms which elicited ‘cringe’ on the internet were Indian Television soaps and short videos found on platforms such as Tiktok and Instagram reels.

Before its ban in India, Tiktok enabled many users to upload short videos on a public space. Many creators from different parts of the country could conveniently create and upload content and express themselves to a much wider audience than ever before. Digital marketing, which was popularised due to the growing influx of social media in our daily lives, allowed some of the creators to gain an additional source of employment and possibly, an equal chance at gaining fame. A popular substitute, Instagram reels, has not turned out to be such an egalitarian platform. It’s algorithm prefers high quality videos and video aesthetics that seem to favour an elitist crowd. Here, ranging from one's quality of technical equipment to video background, everything reflects a subtle form of casteism and classism.

Similarly, Indian television offers content which is mostly the only source of entertainment for a lot of people coming from a weaker socio-economic background. A reputed producer of one of such shows explains how these are often shown at a higher, melodramatic notch to sustain attention of women who simultaneously perform domestic chores. For a large portion of the population, choice in entertainment is not a privilege. It serves the purpose of recreation and distancing oneself from the harsh realities of life, rarely subject to critical, cinematic scrutiny. 

Other Perils of Cringe Culture

When cringing progresses over to trolling someone for their actions, appearance or preferences, it might just be another form of cyberbullying, which has similar causes and consequences as that of a high-school bullying setup. This form of ‘humour’, only facilitated by the anonymity guaranteed by the internet, can reflect misdirected aggression, or even a sense of inadequacy in one’s own life. The unsolicited comments can instill feelings of inferiority and exclusion for somebody only trying to live the way they want to.