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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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.
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.
Surely takes care of the "liking her" part. What a b-itch
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Someone did this to me in high school. I had severe trust issues afterwards. I was always paranoid that the guy I was dating wasn’t genuinely interested in me and had an ulterior motive. Thankfully, I’m now married to an amazing man who loves me unconditionally. I never have to worry about dating again.
I HAVE THIS PROBLEM TOO!! It was someone I dated twice who didn't actually like me either time. It was back in October 2022. And now I have issues in my current relationship because of it.
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In HS I got invited by a girl to the TOLO dance. I was sort of jazzed she liked me. Turns out I was just her way to get to the dance so she could dance with the guy she really wanted to go with who had already asked someone else. Then she rode home with the other guy. It was a double date and our mutual friends were mortified she was such a B. I was still a gentleman. I stopped by her house after dropping off my friends to make sure she made it home okay. I think it prompted an awkward conversation between her and her mom but IDC.
Oh no!!!! this happened to me, I understand how it hurts. Hope OP is okay now!!!!
I can at least hope you’re over your crush now since it seems they have a shît personality
Not a cringe for the OP, a cringe for the a*holes that pulled the prank
something (SIMILAR) happened to my friend back in middle school, I just basically told her "that girl can go fūck herself off a cliff and into spikes" "she has no idea what she lost" good riddance, people are a******s-
She's the real problem here. Knew u cared about her and exploited your pain for her and her friends' amusement. Maybe seek therapy for why you are drawn to such a hurtful, disrespectful person
I call that a contract, she now must go on 12 days with him, tell everyone she is his girlfriend for at least a year, kiss him at the end of each date, and if she wants to end it in a year, she must let everyone think he left her.
Dang. That would have just wrecked me. But then again, I wouldn't have had a crush on someone that long without saying something.
Awww! Now I'm m crying, nooooo😭 poor guy that is awful! Why would someone do that??
Oh sweetheart I hope you're in a better place and have some real friends, not the fake cool popular kids. I spent most of my life not feeling good enough? I was bullied at school and later at work and in my relationships until I had finally given up. A chance meeting with someone I hadn't seen in 6 months changed my life and I've been very happily married for the last 10years. Honestly I know all the cliche things folk say just bugs but maybe stop looking for perfect in all the wrong places it might just come and find you.
Well, hopefully that was a wake up call and he moved and focused on his happiness outside a relationship.
You need to be more discerning when it comes to choosing friends because this sort of thing isn’t funny, it’s just cruel.
8 years? I was a bout to ask if they still in high school but dayyum, this is some middle grade c**p behavior here!
I hope she loses all her hair and the worse case of acne (including permanent scarring) ever.
At the very least he stopped wasting his time and energy on an undeserving and nasty b***h.
While I agree that what she did was messed up, liking someone for 8 YEARS and not moving on when the feelings are not reciprocated gives me serious stalker vibes.
some stupid boy once pretended to love me for 3 seconds and i was ;like "okay? well the feeling is not mutual??" turns out is was a joke. it was poorly acted anyway (this was in elementary) idk if related but im gay
That is so cruel. A special place for people that do that to others....
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.”
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.”
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!
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.
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!”
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!
Ew... that's just weird, I hope he at least asked the kids first if this was ok
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.
Note: this post originally had 37 images. It’s been shortened to the top 35 images based on user votes.
Fun fact, the actual Cringetopia subreddit went private (aka got shut down) because it eventually devolved into a racist, homophobic cesspool.
Didn't someone hack it and make it so you couldn't type? Just use emojis?
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most of these people should suffer from their shame! except nikado he needs therapy and a salad
Someone commented that it's watching slow motion self (unalived). That's hauntingly accurate 😖
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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.
***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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Fun fact, the actual Cringetopia subreddit went private (aka got shut down) because it eventually devolved into a racist, homophobic cesspool.
Didn't someone hack it and make it so you couldn't type? Just use emojis?
Load More Replies... most of these people should suffer from their shame! except nikado he needs therapy and a salad
Someone commented that it's watching slow motion self (unalived). That's hauntingly accurate 😖
Load More Replies... 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.
***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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