Submission Date

7-18-2025

Document Type

Paper

Department

Sociology

Faculty Mentor

Lauren Wynne

Comments

Presented during the 27th Annual Summer Fellows Symposium, July 18, 2025 at Ursinus College.

Project Description

When scrolling through the myriad content found online, you’re bound to find something that leaves you with negative emotions strong enough that you cringe. While this is largely an involuntary response, “cringe” becoming an adjective, and therefore a label, occurs due to the conscious othering of a user for the nature or presentation of their content. This project conceptualizes cringe as a multidimensional phenomenon rather than a singular emotion, which allows us to more easily make sense of how online cringe specifically has morphed into what is colloquially known as “cringe culture.” Through analysis of academic literature (from disciplines ranging from philosophy to marketing to media studies) and primary sources (YouTube videos created both by amateurs and professionals), I identify the characteristics that make online cringe distinct from other dimensions, which have received much more frequent scholarly attention. Due to how frequently certain minority groups are targeted and how easily ridicule can turn into hate, I argue that these definitive attributes contribute to a novel and more covert form of bullying. Far from purely entertainment, online cringe can quickly become problematic, indicating a need to examine this phenomenon in order to avoid restriction of creative and personal development among online users, as well as to determine best practices for Internet decorum.

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