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.    

“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.”

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.”

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!

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. 

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!”