If someone asked you to think of what “bullying” meant, you’d probably picture the stereotypical, popular jerk from high school movies. Most of the time these characters are portrayed as pushy and blunt, that teases and harasses the bullied character at every chance they get. However, in reality, bullying can be a lot more subtle than you might think.
Whether it’s backhanded compliments or smirking at their friends whenever the quiet kid starts to speak, bullying isn’t always super easy to spot, and oftentimes it is played off as a joke. “Why are you overreacting? It’s just a joke.” is a common phrase used by bullies to belittle another. Making jokes at the expense of someone else is a subtle, but extremely prominent tactic used by bullies. Clearly, humor is subjective, and not everyone is going to find something funny, but said “jokes” that are essentially sugar-coated racism, homophobia, and misogyny, should not be normalized. As of lately, the line between jokes and straight up harassment is getting thinner and thinner. These “jokes” are especially normalized in Gen Z and within the internet community.
Most people who have used the internet have heard the term “cringe.” This word is usually used to describe a feeling of embarrassment, which can be triggered by your own personal experiences or watching someone else do something that is deemed “cringey.” Making fun of people on the internet who are supposedly “embarrassing” (mainly people who dress differently or have an unusual hobby) is a huge part of “cringe culture.”
Obviously, not every video or content creator you see on the internet is going to be to your liking. Finding someone weird doesn’t automatically make you a bad person. However, going out of your way to harass that person, and posting hurtful comments just because someone was “cringe,” is inherently wrong.
Though, if someone is doing something bad, harmful, or just straight up mean, then critiquing or disagreeing with their problematic behavior can be justified. On the other hand, hating on harassing an innocent creator just for making a cringey video is completely uncalled for and should not be normalized at all.
Another popular topic spawned from cringe culture is filming strangers in public and uploading it to the internet. Obviously, there is no valid reason to film someone without their consent. It’s not only disrespectful, but illegal to exploit a random individual for views. A prime example, or a popular target, is alternative kids, people who dress differently, who in many cases have been filmed by strangers solely to made fun of on the internet. The question left remaining, is it really that hard to respect someone’s fashion choices, that do not affect you in the slightest?
At the end of the day, it’s easy to leave a hate comment on someone’s page. All you have to do is type out the message and post it for all the world to see. It’s easy to hide behind a screen and forget that there is a person with feelings on the other side who could be going through something you know nothing about. One simple “joke” can be more harmful than you think.
