A Deep Dive into Online Cringe Culture 

>Girls >having fun Well there's your problem

came for the sorb3t lore stayed for the deep sociological breakdown of human behavior and social context

Reject the performative disgust of Cringe, embrace the radical sincerity of Camp

I find it so funny that ppl try to 'defend a culture' they apparently know nothing about. She was using katakana. You have to pronounce it like that, otherwise there's a good chance japanese ppl wouldn't even understand what you're saying. My japanese teacher would scold us if we didn't pronounce it the way berry did. Like, yeah it was kinda cringe, but how abt just moving on with your life instead of doxxing them

i am cringe… but i am free…

I want this video to be viral As an autistic person, I get called cringe way too many times just for breathing

Alright, speaking on cringe, I personally tend towards not judging folks for having fun and being happy. (Berry was speaking Japanese and English, and you basically HAVE to put on a Japanese accent to speak the language) I had the video of my ENGAGEMENT go viral, and had people flooding the comments with wonderful messages, but also vitriolic comments about how cringe it was, how we both "look like Discord mods" and how it was "cringe" that I dropped down on one knee before my future husband did. I've also gotten WORSE comments about us being together being a good thing because it, and I quote, "takes [our] genes out of the rest of the gene pool." People are cruel about the happiness of others no matter where you are, even in real life, because I was unashamed in liking nerdy shit as a kid, bullied relentlessly about it, and that love led to my fiancé and I bonding in the first place. All this to say, people don't like having a black mirror image of themselves in that they aren't as happy or carefree or unashamed as others, and instead of reflecting on that, they aim to take others down for their own unhappiness, leading to "cringe content" more than anything else.

Embrace your cringe. Identifying things as cringe is also now cringe. Abandon all hope for all is cringe. I love your video, I really liked the message of just allowing yourself to be authentically cringe and for that to be fine.

actual japanese people would find it flattering/cute if anything i know that i love the cowboy/american stereotypes from japan

Man, I feel so bad for Sorbet they actually seemed nice and cool and ppl just bullied them off the internet

i feel like a lot of the cases of "cringe" are just people being passionate. passionate about media, passionately performing, passionately creating, passionately learning, passionate about politics... how sad that people would judge that. and they're probably afraid of showing their own passions in case someone else thinks it's "cringe".

I have two definitions of cringe and they’re almost on opposite sides of spectrum 1) where others are having fun and not a care for how others may see them (examples may include “Naruto running”, “Pokemon themed wedding”, “Sorbet’s call and response”, infamous “fire bolt” LARP video) 2) something that’s just sad to watch it happen to others (ex of this may be “desperate attempt to get in good side of friend group after they kicked you out for treating them badly” or “unironically ranting about how badass you are on Facebook while everyone knows the reality is not the case”) Former kind of cringe makes me happy for them. They’re living their best world. I sometimes proclaim myself cringe queen and enjoy showcasing my own cringe side.

I think if the situation was reversed, for example they would be a black group trying to get into a stereotypically white genre like indie rock and we’re booted in the same way, we’d be discussing racism and not cringe culture.

as someone who has been following berry consistently for awhile (and still follows her!) she’s such a sweet and talented girl who does what she likes without the shame and hatred other ppl feel the need to project on her. a really nice covering of the topic. glad i found this vid

this is such an incredible video, and i sincerely hope more people watch it. you put my thoughts about cringe culture and its wider implications into words better than i ever could have.

why is there only 3k views??? this is one of the most insightful video essays i’ve watched this week (i watch a lot. like 3 a day.)

I'm so glad I can say I never jumped on the sorbet hate train when I saw it on my TIK Tok years ago. I always found it weird and gross to see people attacking these young women who were just doing a silly dance and picking on them for the sole crime of being weebs.

Oh. So "cringe" is the new slur for a "nerd" or "dork" or "geek" or "Poindexter." Got it. Same bullshit, different name. *sigh*

I got drawn in because I was similarly someone who had a whiplash reaction to Sorb3t, I never harrassed them about it but I was enjoying a bit of the... schadenfreude that whole situation instilled in me. For me it's definitely partially because I am too insecure to "do my own thing" and live authentically, so it felt right to see my fears validated through other people (though my dreams aren't related to being an idol). Although I don't follow Berry now, some of the content she's made both about/unrelated to the mass harrassment she experienced has made its way to my FYP and I kind of look up to her a bit. I think she is very mentally strong to have gone through what she did and not abandon content creation. As for your video, it put into concise words what I thought of cringe culture as well (even as I participate in it in my own head), and I'm surprised to see you're not at around 100k subs! I wish you good luck on youtube, your content is top notch.

I just have to say I was not expecting such a philosophical approach to cringe culture and I have never been happier. I think this might be one of the few videos I'll have to come back to rewatch or make sure friends watch as well because you're thoughts were put in such a way where there could be so many conversations to make and develop. On how cringe culture shapes society, how our minds in a psychological way make us cringe at others as a way for disgust, and so on. Thank you for taking the time to make this video!

I was expecting atleast a few thousand views I am sad to see only a few more than myself your content in genuinely good

Great video. I really hope u stick in there even though the algorithm can be tough for new creators.

Every time a post on social media gets away from its target audience, there's a chance it triggers a gigantic harassment campaign for no reason other than the fun of tearing someone down, and it's terrifying. Feel so bad for Sorbet :(

All hot adults were math club kids

Even when sorb3t was still a thing I was always defending them,got doxxed twice because I was supporting "abuser" ans now everyone switched their sides. I just wanted to tell people that overseas jpop idols are very common and are part of the culture but people just lovvveee to hate without doing their research 💀 I'm glad that people are now apologizing to berry after all of this,she deserves an apology from everyone

I unsubscribed from r/sadcringe and similar subreddits since I'm fearing doing things people might classify as "cringe" and be humiliated :/

You’re a great creator ! Stay with it.

How does this only have 700 views?? This is an *excellent* breakdown.

13:42 BULLSEYE! This is a phenomenon I see all the time, I’ve never seen someone else talk about it before. This happens a lot within the ace community. We have a lot of “”micro labels,”” but I think they’re considered so only because most people have never thought about the experience of being ace. So when posts about ace drama go viral, it’s people going “these newfangled young people and their snowflake identities.” No, these are jargon terms for a community/research you aren’t a part of. I just wanna shake them and go “Herbert, you wouldn’t be able to explain the difference between arusal, attraction, and libdo. You’ve got no room to call this a microlabel or cringey!” A lot of these “”micro labels”” I could totally see going mainstream once it gets big enough, like how terms like “top” or “bottom” got adopted from the gat / bfsm communities into common parlance. I know this because when I explain the terms to them properly, they suddenly agree with me But bc the community is still relatively unknown, we get dunked on by people who stumble upon it by the algorithm that shouldn’t be here, by people who would probably understand us if they had been introduced to it properly instead of via the viral post that gets the most ragebait comments. Context!

The switch up on Sorb3t, i was waiting to see what they had planned. Berry's call and response was so iconic that everyone even the haters were saying it

I have anxiety, and I make fan art, fanfiction, etc. of my interests, so I'm in a weird constant-back-and-fourth bravery and fear of being "cringe" simultaneously. You have no idea how conflicted I get when I post stuff like my Ed Edd n' Eddy Rétro Future AU, as of recent, because I love making stuff for it so dearly, yet I also worry that people won't take me seriously as a person because "GUYS DID YOU KNOW THAT'S THE SAME PERSON WHO MADE THAT ED EDD N' EDDY FANFIC WHERE THEY GO INTO CYBERSPACE AND SHlT" Like part of me thinks that would be hilarious, but at the same time, another part of me thinks that would be terrifying

Fantastic analytical essay. This is actually a pretty important explanation about the shortcomings of our survival trait of disgust that really is no longer needed and is largely negatively impactful on society. Othering is the root of so many evils. Thanks for the effort you made to communicate this.

The way this isn't viral is insane- You will get there, trust!

BUT SORB3T WAS SO CUTE THO? >m

good vid. love the mix of sociological themes and popculture moments

genuinely scary how a nothingburger of "critique" gets that out of hand then vanishes that quickly, whole time a real person is receiving it... damn. many such tales, too.

this video meant a lot to me, thank you for making this ♥♥♥

As an autistic person I think I don’t have the same "different = bad" instinct that apparently people have, growing up I would always be confused when people would say that someone disliked someone else just for being different.

sorbey seemed to be pretty fun, it's disappointing that they got cancelled. Ow Nice, a spin

I dig the dive into the psychological aspects of our culture & it’s “rights” & “wrongs”. Brilliant channel

i recently interviewed her (short on my channel) and had no idea who she was until my friends started texting me about the drama 😭 she's very nice and SO fun i'm glad she seems to be thriving

We gonna talk about how ableism plays into cringe culture as well or are we gonna totally leave that out?

You have a stellar voice for this! Seems super natural for you.

Just discovered your channel, and I have to say that I enjoy your measured and rational approach.

ooooo I’m excited that I found you while you’re still under 1K!

sorb3t hate is so forced 😭 suddenly its cringy when an english speaking person adds japanese words to their songs but no one bats an eye when a japanese person uses english words in their songs im not saying either of them is bad i just find it… odd

man i did not expect this video to be so in-depth. subbing since this is really interesting and probably took a lot of effort to research and write a gripping script for something so cool. we may be cringe, but we're free

Great video! I thought for sure you'd have thousands of views and subscribers. Hoping the algorithm is kind to you because you deserve it.

This is a very well made video. Good job. I enjoyed it and have had the same realization I had that I was much more free and happy when I didn't even know what cringe is as a kid a few years ago. About the sorbet group, I thought the green luck girl was really cute.

Great Video! For anyone interested in more on cringe pls watch Contrapoints Cringe. She goes even more in depth and adds some Other crazy examples of "Cringe Targets". Good Job and have a nice day :)

I didn't expect this video to have this much depth. You really gave me a lot to think about

i am SO happy seeing this video i feel like its not talked about enough, of how intense and damaging "cringe culture" is (and cancel culture")

the bee movie era was so funny. i taped up scripts of it around my school. i also got in school suspension for photoshopping a teacher's face onto the brokeback mountain poster and hanging it up.

Y'know, after seeing this video, I'd rather be "cringe" (as in, myself and posting stuff that gave me joy, even if it's a bunch of dark "edgy" humor or OCs that I really love for whatever reason) than a boring cell. I did see some stuff I drew a long time ago as a kid / teen that I did dispose of, but all in all, it was definitely a whole other cringe vs what I've got now, LOL. All in all, embrace yourself and who you are - f the haters, all that good stuff. Just...Y'know...Be careful what you post and where you post it, maybe. Or who you're posting around. But honestly, if it's something you enjoy and not breaking the law or endangering anyone (or bigotry, etc), just be you.

this video is so beautiful tbh you are so well spoken and i agree with all of ur points 100% it was clever to compare the alt right pipeline to the cancel culture pipeline i feel like with cancel culture they don't care about actual crimes or when people actually hurt others, they just care about bullying "cringe" people

I’m in the overseas idol community! Berry is a really successful solo idol now 🩷🩷 Edit: she doesn’t go by Berry-chan anymore due to this traumatic event

I really like how thoughtful is your video❤

Just discovered this video and it's a great deep dive on cringe culture and why cringe culture Honestly, one of the most freeing moment is probably just embracing "i'm cringe but i'm free" mantra

very interesting and thought provoking videos

So your telling me the reason I feel cringe is because a green mindy kaling is hijacking my control panel. Makes sense

new to your channel and falling in love with your hair lmaoo

You described in great words some thoughts and feelings i've had for so long about how weird it feels that people tend to see social constructs as some kind of 'objectively truth of what is right or wrong', some 'natural order of things' It's all social constructs, just things we made up as humans to organize how to see the world. And that's ok. But it's not some natural rule from the universe So as my autistic brain has decided for myself, be cringe be free :)

WTF I’ve been following that idol for years and never knew this happened .

also this is rlly well done i hope u keep making videos u have a mindset id like to hear more from!

I think this video has changed the way I see the world

this is my first time hearing of sorb3t and I wish I was there in the beginning as someone who frequently visits Japan and knows katakana i would have tried to sway the masses.

Literally everyone does something cringe at least once in their lives, and me personally I have had a lot of cringe in my past due to me not having as much control over my autism back then as I do now

You really do do a great job putting together your videos in comparison to your sub count Kevin! Good luck!

Underrated

Hey, Berry would prefer if people did not call her "Berry-Chan" unless they are a native Japanese speaker!! For everyone else, she is to be referred to as just Berry./nm Just saying because even if you guys hate her, you have to respect her wishes of how she wants to be reffered to!!

Amazing video, you brought up points i'd never considered, really glad I found your channel

just found your channel and i'm loving your videos! you deserve so many more subs keep it up 🫶🏻

Tui and La...an eternal dance of push and pull.

This is such a good video I’m genuinely surprised you don’t have way more views

Excellent deep dive! Thanks for sharing. The BGM got a little loud at a few points though, so watch out for that on your future videos!

Quick, we better start cancelling all the English singers that sing with in the style like American accents.

to be cringe is to be free

Very impressive video, great exposition and I really like the structure of your essay

i love this video a lot it put a lot into words that i couldnt. thank you so much.

hey, as a chronically online person i saw a lot of this then and even now. No one understood the fact she was pronouncing in katakana, and then she also made the mistake of mentioning her Japanese boyfriend which people were like Oh sO yoU thInk itS oKaY bEcAuSe you HaVe Jp BF caRd?? she still dances and does shows and makes idol collabs, but she mentioned she cant have an actual job because she has been doxxed 3 times, and isn't able to have a house because of it so she lives with a friend. Can you imagine? and the people who dogpiled her for speaking her call response in Japanese, what about Ashe? is it cause Ashe is actually Asian its ok? this thing was crazy and i still feel bad for berry, because her life is ruined since people still actively try to constantly dox her to this day.

bruh im pretty sure berry played Tinker bell in 2015 or 2016 at disney world this is wild, likei think i knew them??

It’s… so hard to exist on the internet and be happy. If you are having fun and enjoying your interest by yourself people will look at you and think you’re a circus freak if it isn’t something socially acceptable. And even if it is, if you show any amount of passion they will say you’re “too excited about this” and will still ostracize you. I, as a 22 year old adult, am a massive fan of the Thomas the Tank Engine show. It has a lot character depth and lore it’s quite a great show. I have made fan art, ocs, and aus about the series. A mutual of mine on tumblr had one of their humanized au drawings breach containment and land itself on Reddit. And amongst the small amount of people praising their art, they got five times as many death threats and general comments about how cringe they were and how “Ttte?? Really?? LOL. What are you 5? Isn’t that show for toddlers?” Shit like this happens to my friends CONSTANTLY. I’m terrified of anyone finding my blogs. Or my fics about my other interests and crossover stuff I’ve made. Because I know that if I’m not careful, I’ll be sent death threats. And if the internet deems me cringe enough I might even be doxxed or threatened in real life. All for something so innocuous as enjoying a children show, or making fun aus of a RU-vid show, or even for merely existing as an autistic person.

The whole Sorbet "drama" really scared me because I actually just got into the kaigai Idol scene and started doing cover performances. I've accepted that I'm cringe but it still gets to me sometimes when I think about what people might be saying about me. But honestly all I'm doing is singing and dancing, having fun!

you deserve my subscription after this introduction 😂🖤

brother your lisp is adorable

Nothing substantial to add, just wanted to shout out Piemations' "Elements of Cringe". Also, using Erik Satie as background music is so overdone, it's cringe. 😁

i kind of see it this way: Cringe ignites a feeling within us similar to if we would watch a crime video or something funny. A guilty pleasure you might say.

This was so eloquently put well done!!!

Buddy, liking magic and doing math competitions isn't cringe. Love the things you love, brother. 🤘

Mf why doesn't this have 1 million views yet its fire

Kevin the kind of guy to ask his barber for a typical Karen haircut.

watching "cringe content" has never made me experience joy

SUCH a good video!! thanks : )

so it basically boils down to holding power over others to some capacity. We Humans haven't changed. 😂

Great video. Very insightful. Nice!

Personally, I've never felt positively from any cringe I've come across on the internet. It does induce a strong feeling of discomfort but not disgust. As you've said I can see where a feeling of moral superiority could be conveyed. I appreciate your insight into the phenomenon!

SHES POSTED A SONG ON SPOTIFY THIS YEAR!! BERRY ISNT GONE!!!

This video deserves so many more views. I think they were really cute, wish I had their good pronunciation of Japanese words. Just hate it when some Westerns say that "they are offending Japanese culture" yeah then put me in a room with a Japanese that tells me is bad, not just some random person on the internet. Cringe is a part of me, as me just existing is seen as cringe (Im autistic and we are prone to being targeted by cringe culture). Hope they can have their fun elsewhere off the internet :/

KEVIN THIS CAME UP IN MY RECOMMENDED

[0:39] Just BEE yourself!