to be cringe is to be free!
death to cringe culture. published on september 15, 2025
"YOLO" shouldn't have left internet culture because it's really true. We only have our one life. Why waste it caring about what others think of you?
nonchalance
Back around May 2025, being "nonchalant" was trendy on TikTok apparently. I'm not really on TikTok, so I don't know what the trends are like. I don't care to know, but what I do know is that this trend was kind of sad. Appearing nonchalant as a trendy thing meant appearing disinterested, unbothered, and aloof. You couldn't look like you try too hard. Low effort was cool which did affect the performance of some kids in school. It's incredibly ironic to care so much about how much you don't care though. Part of being social media's idea of nonchalant is to not have hobbies. Liking anything ever is cringy, and no one likes to do anything. They're mysterious, but that's about the only interesting thing about them in reality. These days, the nonchalant trend is parodied and shamed, but the fact that it existed at all is depressing. Here is a Reddit post of someone asking how to appear nonchalant, but the comments are telling them to be themselves. It gives me hope.
current day internet killed authenticity
I remember early Instagram where people posted selfies with oversaturated filters or what they ate.
"The camera eats first!"
I really miss this type of social media. It was truly social. The posts you saw were from people you knew in real life, and if you didn't, they were still good friends. I was obsessed with my cousins dog, Princess, and I posted collages of the dog on my Facebook page as a child. I put sparkles and a bunch of other stuff available in the Facebook photo editor. It was a simpler time.
I will always think of Zendaya's swag era.
Doesn't it just feel warm, nice, and genuine?
I remember watching videos of cosplayers out in public roaming the world. If I watched those now, I would probably cringe. However, I do admire that they were having fun. Life is about having fun. Cringe culture and online bullying has killed fun and authenticity. I mean, I've seen comments on TikTok or Instagram posts that said, "Bring back bullying." The posts would be considered cringe, but truly the poster is just having fun.
I have to add that I absolutely hate Sssniperwolf.
TikTok comments are either so nice or downright evil. It only takes one snarky comment for the whole comment section to be so mean. This sort of bullying makes people afraid of being unique and fun. This harms art and self expression. There's an expectation that you have to be immediately perfect even if it's a hobby. It even affects how people view themselves. Average looking people are seen as ugly because we only see the "best" looking people. This is enforced by TikTok's algorithm favoring beautiful people. Only the prettiest people appeasing an algorithm is starting to make the internet look all the same.
Cringe culture itself is an evil thing. Remember the earlier days of TikTok where most of the content was trying to watch these people and feeling secondhand embarrassment. It was the main drive of users to TikTok in 2018. I'll be honest, I was fascinated by these people too. I'll be super honest even, and I'll admit that I have followed lolcows heavily for years and years. In my embracing of being cringe and okay with it, I've been having issues with the lolcow side of the internet. People who partake in lolcow discussion excuse it by saying that they're predators, but most of the lolcows don't start that way. It's a complicated world worth discussing, but I won't get into it now.
I just think that cringe culture should be and is dead.
whimsy
I keep mentioning it, but my partner has deemed 2025 as the year of "radical whimsy." I just love it so much. Him and I agreed that it should be "radical whimsy 4eva!" It has to be "4eva."
Being whimsical and cringy is the most freeing way one could ever live in the modern day. Finding whimsy in mundane things improves your outlook in life. Staying true to yourself, even if it's cringy, is great for your mental health. Make space for those cringy hobbies. Watch anime because it makes you happy. Be fascinated by niche things because it makes you happy. Do what makes you happy. If other people call you cringy because of it, stop caring. They're not living your life, and they'll never feel your happiness. Man, I saw steam tractors for fun cause I wanted to. I don't care if anyone thinks it's boring or stupid. I have yet to meet anyone who does, but if they're out there, I don't care!
After I got medicated for my anxiety, I have found it easier to be myself. Being myself makes me feel less anxious too. I am no longer feeling like I need to mask. I am just me! To clarify, I don't think medications can fix everything for everyone. It's really up to each individual, but for me, my meds helped me a lot. Growing older has helped me too just because of the maturing that happens.
Before meds, my anxiety drove most of my social interactions because I was so socially anxious. I have other reasons for seeking medication, but my social anxiety was borderline crippling. I was always scared of how people perceive me. I don't care nowadays. I will go talk to some random person for fun if I feel inclined. If I fall in front of a bunch of people, I'll laugh because it's funny. I don't care! This whole website where I share my thoughts wouldn't have existed if I didn't embrace my whimsy and cringe.
I want everyone to feel this because to be cringe is to be free!
Here are a couple videos on the subject that I found very interesting.
Shameless Nerd - a guy who loves to be himself and encourage his middle school students to do the same.
Taylor Lorenz - a tech journalist contextualizing parts of internet culture that may be changing in front of our eyes. She has written for the Washington Post, NYT, Business Insider, and Daily Mail. I particularly like her appearance on Matt Bernstein's podcast episode discussing Conservatism sneaking its way into pop culture.
Live your best life and luv yoself
