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What makes you cringe? Is it witnessing someone try to flirt in the most awkward way? Or maybe looking at photos of yourself from middle school does it? Contrary to what your parents told you, that combination of bangs and braces did not look amazing! We’re all capable of engaging in some cringey behavior, whether it’s forgetting to mute yourself in a Zoom meeting with all of your colleagues or participating in TikTok trends that should probably be left to teenagers. But there’s something about the internet that seems to make individuals even more prone to engaging in full-on cringe.
And no one knows that better than the followers of Cringetopia on Twitter. Below, we’ve gathered some of the most painful tweets from this account dedicated to documenting “the worst of the worst on the internet”, so you’ve been warned: you might be cringing incredibly hard by the end.
Keep reading to also find an interview with an expert on the topic: host of the Watch Cringe podcast, Brendan, and try to enjoy this list (despite the fact that it might end up causing you physical pain). Be sure to upvote all of the pics that you couldn’t help but get a kick out of, and then, if you can somehow handle even more second-hand embarrassment, you can find another Bored Panda article featuring similar content right here!
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#1
River Webb 1 year ago (edited)
b-because i *looks down shyly* want to be an e-emberassment to anyone who ever knew m-me uwu *blushes*
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Horst 1 year ago
“Uh-uh owh! Wooks like y-ywor ovawies are sicky!” *waddles closer* “I-I can h-help with that UWU!” /j
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Natalie H 1 year ago
*Bwushes beet wed, cwinges and makes an icky face* Absowutewy NOT, you baby-talking cweep. Go $@#% yoself.
Jacqueline Pie Francis 1 year ago
UGH I hate hate haaaaate this kind of text speak, it is so annoying and creepy and why do they think this is cute??? Why???
They/them MHA obsessed 1 year ago
B- b- because I- I like to make people feel uncomfortable UwU/j
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MyDogIsSoWeird 1 year ago
Of course, since i'm bi that automatically means I am down for threesomes!! Duh!
OmBoyGanesh 1 year ago
This happens in the gay community a LOT. In my twenties I’d get asked at least once a week. Mostly because I was very social, but I was always nice & engaging with whomever was nearby at a club or bar. I resented the assumption so my go-to response to the partner asking ( it was always one, never both) was, “no thanks. I means, I get why you’re asking but I’m not really into/attracted to your husband/boyfriend, either.” The not so subtle implication was enough to always disarm them.
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Eric S. 1 year ago
*blush* I read you were asexual and *turns beet red with embarrassment* I was wondering if...
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Apachebathmat 1 year ago
There are a few people on BP who are fond of using this kind of role playing talk, it’s completely vomit inducing but also a little sad that. They can’t just be themselves and have to hide behind a made up character
Jane Cortez 1 year ago
It’s SO nauseating! ‘waddles up to you?’ WTF? Who in their right mind speaks this way??? ‘Looks away in embarrassment,’ Beyond gross.
DEW 1 year ago
I do may be a ....um.. then move on. I don't need to know exactly what you are doing. If you want you can say"Hey I'm a little shy on this. But I saw that you are Bi. Would you ever like to do a threesome? Then end it. They can say whatever reply they want and move on. Don't say every moment.
Jane Martin 1 year ago
It's like those people who talk 'baby talk'. Learn how to communicate with people honestly and maturely.
Lacy the Partypooper 1 year ago
uwu p-p-pwease go.... *blushes* g-g-get a therapist >~< if y-you talk wike dis.. owo
ThatNerdZoe 1 year ago
PEOPLE CALL ME A DISCORD KITTEN AT SCHOOL (IM LITERALLY 13 WTF) AND IM SO UNCOMFORTABLE WITH THIS
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The Cringetopia Twitter account has only been around since January 2021, but it has already amassed an impressive 105k followers. Despite the pain that it must cause those individuals, apparently, they can’t get enough of this embarrassing content. So we decided to do some investigating into what exactly “cringe” is and why the internet so obsessed with it. According to Wiktionary, the word “cringe” is derived from a combination of the Middle English word ‘crengen’, which means “to bend in a haughty manner” or to condescend, the Proto-Germanic word ‘krangijaną’, which means “to cause to fall” or “to cause to turn”, and several other Danish, Dutch, Scottish and West Frisian words essentially all meaning to turn away.
The way that we use cringe today, however, is an almost inexplicable experience or feeling, according to Saumya Kalia, a writer at The Swaddle. She describes cringing as “a curled upper lip, a wrinkle on the nose, a weighted sneer, a shake of the head from side to side. To the assault on grammar, excessive displays of human emotions, fashion that was meant to die, any and every behavior that forgets social norms.” She explains that we’re all prone to experiencing and feeling cringe, so perhaps, it’s best to just embrace it.
#6
A Wild Bean 1 year ago
What kind of insensitive nosy pig would post this about a complete stranger??
“The history of cringe is rooted in social submission,” Kalia writes for The Swaddle. “What reached its peak through the internet culture first originated in the Old English; cringan was the word to describe ‘to fall, to yield in battle, to give way, to become bent, to curl up.’ Cringan became cringe sometime in the 16th century when it introduced the feelings of fear and embarrassment to ‘bending’ or ‘crouching.’ Finally, by the 19th century, the meaning had cemented itself; cringe meant to ‘recoil in embarrassment, shame, or fear’.”
And over the past couple decades, cringe content has become increasingly popular, with hit shows like The Office, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and Nathan For You gaining massive popularity. We watch these programs and laugh, partially from discomfort and partially because the situations the characters put themselves in are just too hilarious. But as Kalia explains in her article discussing the cultural history of cringe, “Watching train wrecks in fictionalized worlds spilled into a desire to mock those in real life.” Today, there are countless accounts like Cringetopia on Instagram, Reddit and TikTok calling out the lack of self-awareness so many people seem to exhibit in real life and online. There is certainly no shortage of cringe content to be found.
To learn even more about the painful and elusive topic of cringe, we reached out to Brendan, host of the podcast Watch Cringe, and he was kind enough to have a chat with us. First, we wanted to know what inspired Brendan, and his co-host Jay, to start a show dedicated to this topic. “We started the podcast because it’s highly entertaining and has a few lessons to teach the audience,” he told Bored Panda. “We want to normalize the cringe, so people can realize to not take life too seriously, but also to learn how to be better.”
#12
Angeline Shalyn 1 year ago
Oh my ! I was wondering why this was a "bad" one, I didn't realize the bottom was before and the top is now, I thought it was the opposite way around
Cringe can be a subjective topic, so we were curious how Brendan likes to define it. “Cringe equals ‘shared embarrassment’. When someone does something ‘cringe’, it usually highlights that person's inability to be socially appropriate,” he explained. “Meaning it’s usually when someone [messes] up or is just really uncool. For example, uncool dad jokes make you cringe because you feel embarrassed for the dad and everyone in the room. Or let’s say a dude is showing off a Venus fist (feminist) tattoo at a bar to pick up babes. That’s cringe because it’s obvious he didn’t get that tattoo out of sincerity; he’s basically acting like a tool bag.”
#13
Alexandra Davis 1 year ago
It's not just $3k or $2k though, it's holiday time at work, it's child care, it's that amount per person, it's all the extra costs on top like insurance, spending money, vaccinations for Thailand etc (including an expensive registry by the sounds of it!) Most people can only have one holiday a year and don't want to spend it at your wedding, especially as you sound insufferable
Brendan was also willing to share one of his own personal moments of cringe with us. “On one of my first dates with a girl, I asked her if she was on the spectrum because I thought she was like me,” he told Bored Panda. “She didn’t like that line of questioning, but guess what: she’s my fiancé now! This type of cringe is because the cringer is unaware of how their words can affect other people’s feelings.” That may have been cringey in the moment, but I’m glad to hear the story had a happy ending!
#16
David Martin 1 year ago
Show of hands; Who would bet he "kissed" a man posing as a girl on Reddit?
And lucky for all of us (or unlucky, depending on how you look at it), Brendan says no one is immune to being cringey. “The cringe is unavoidable,” he told Bored Panda. “It’s a part of human ancestry. Look to our past, present, and future, and you will find that entire countries are cringe. France stole a 3,000 year old obelisk from Egypt, shipped it to France on a boat, and set it up in the middle of a traffic circle!” It’s true. It’s called the Luxor Obelisk, and you can read about it right here.
#20
Alexandra Davis 1 year ago
So he's not your husband, he's not in the armed forces and he never went to that school... wow!
Finally, Brendan left us with some wise words about our cringey behavior. “The world needs to highlight it and embrace it,” he shared. “It’s like having a big pimple on your face. It’s worse if you try to hide it. Just own it, and be better next time.”
If you’d like to hear some painfully cringey stories, accompanied by hilarious commentary, be sure to check out Brendan’s podcast Watch Cringe right here or follow the show on Instagram right here!
According to Melissa Dahl, a senior editor at The Cut and author of Cringeworthy: A Theory of Awkwardness, indulging in cringe content for fun is actually similar to experiencing nightmares, as far as our brains are concerned. “It’s our brains giving us a dose of exposure therapy,” she told Vox. “Maybe the same thing is happening for people who are drawn to cringey content, [maybe they’re] people whose deepest fear is being ostracized or made to look like a fool.”
“I think [cringe content] is a controlled way of facing this really deep fear. It’s funny to talk about being embarrassed during the year 2020 when there’s such scary things going on,” Dahl continued, referring to the COVID-19 pandemic. “But, like, there’s nothing scarier than being cast out on your own and laughed out of the group!”
#27
BenMaharaj 1 year ago
One of the beauties of the written word is you can elucidate your thoughts far more effectively than with speech. I don’t understand why anyone would give up that advantage.
Are you feeling a little better about all of the cringey things you’ve ever done? Because clearly, it can always get worse! We hope you’re getting a kick out of these photos pandas, but remember, none of us are immune to the cringe. So don't get too cocky... Keep upvoting your favorite photos, and then if you want to experience even more second-hand embarrassment, you can find another Bored Panda article featuring painfully cringey content right here!
#28
#30
#32
A Wild Bean 1 year ago
Ew... that's just weird, I hope he at least asked the kids first if this was ok
#34
Kate Jones 1 year ago
I feel like I know exactly what this guy looks like and everything he owns is probably sticky and there's a lot of axe bodyspray everywhere.
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What do you think ?
Peppy Piplup 1 year ago
Fun fact, the actual Cringetopia subreddit went private (aka got shut down) because it eventually devolved into a racist, homophobic cesspool.
Tavi “Raptor” Parks 1 year ago
Didn't someone hack it and make it so you couldn't type? Just use emojis?
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best turtle 1 year ago (edited)
most of these people should suffer from their shame! except nikado he needs therapy and a salad
Lauren Caswell 1 year ago
Someone commented that it's watching slow motion self (unalived). That's hauntingly accurate 😖
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Zephyr343 1 year ago
I have been stuck on the highway for the past 2 hours because of 2 accidents literally 1 car ahead of me. Semi on fire, and another in pieces. On the plus side, the city of Beloit, WI firefighters are very nice. They have come and checked on me 5 times. I think this is the only time it is okay to be on your phone on the highway lol.
Old Roadie 1 year ago (edited)
***How's it going now, Zephyr? Just looked at the news. You're in the middle of that mess? Can you walk to exit and have family bring blankets and food?
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Peppy Piplup 1 year ago
Fun fact, the actual Cringetopia subreddit went private (aka got shut down) because it eventually devolved into a racist, homophobic cesspool.
Tavi “Raptor” Parks 1 year ago
Didn't someone hack it and make it so you couldn't type? Just use emojis?
Load More Replies... best turtle 1 year ago (edited)
most of these people should suffer from their shame! except nikado he needs therapy and a salad
Lauren Caswell 1 year ago
Someone commented that it's watching slow motion self (unalived). That's hauntingly accurate 😖
Load More Replies... Zephyr343 1 year ago
I have been stuck on the highway for the past 2 hours because of 2 accidents literally 1 car ahead of me. Semi on fire, and another in pieces. On the plus side, the city of Beloit, WI firefighters are very nice. They have come and checked on me 5 times. I think this is the only time it is okay to be on your phone on the highway lol.
Old Roadie 1 year ago (edited)
***How's it going now, Zephyr? Just looked at the news. You're in the middle of that mess? Can you walk to exit and have family bring blankets and food?
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