Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Things That Appear Cool To High Schoolers But Cringeworthy To Everyone Else

Things That Appear Cool To High Schoolers But Cringeworthy To Everyone Else
three men and laughing two women walking side by side
Photo by Eliott Reyna on Unsplash

High school is strange time for most of us. We think we know everything, we want to be cool and idolized, and we conform to fit in, even if conforming really means doing something stupid, like smoking.

Still, as high schoolers, we thought all of this was cool. We did all sorts of stupid or inappropriate things, and either justified them, or didn’t even realize they needed to be justified.

However, we all grow up. Things we thought were cool as high schoolers are absolutely cringeworthy to us now. Redditors are only too eager to share what those things are.


It all started when Redditor crypto_wut asked:

“What is cool in the eyes of most high schoolers but is actually cringe?”

Uselessness Of High School Hierarchy

"Being popular for the wrong reasons. As soon as you graduate that starts over. Better not to rely on being popular and prepare."

– Hamfiter

"I remember this guy in high school who had a fearsome reputation. Him and his cousins would show up at parties, literally say, "Do you know who I am?" and attack people. People were terrified, and rightfully so, people were getting severely hurt."

"Anyways, I was in 11th grade, he was in 12th."

"Once he graduated high school, he would come swing by the high school often, smoke out front with his "friend's" and talk about how it was so great to graduate, he didn't have to get up early or do anything, etc. At first, everybody was like, "Cool, lucky!" and then it was like, "Heh...let's go back to class...""

– lazarus870

"I'm Real Grown Up!"

"Telling people how mature you are"

– pineapplewin

"When I was in high school there were some girls in one of my freshman/sophomore classes bragging about how mature they were because they had boyfriends who were older and would invite them to college parties. Like...no, your boyfriends are losers and you're just naïve.

– ArcticFox46

Teach Yourself To Be Kind

"Being rude to teachers. Every person who I know who was rebellious in school cringes hard when they think about the sh*t they said to teachers."

– WowThisIsAwkward_

"Being jerks to the teacher who just tries to do his\her job."

– Greedy-Ad-189

Not JUST A Prank

""It's just a prank bro" no, you're being an a**hole"

– bzaroworld

"I like to use the pie in the face test. Does it cause the person more inconvenience than a pie in the face, under normal circumstances? If yes, then it's not a prank, it's a crime."

– indrada90

Feel What You Feel

"Worrying what other people think. The concept of “cool” in the first place."

"My brother and I (in our early 30s) were watching a group of teenagers trying so hard to put on this cool, unemotional facade at Disneyland while everyone else around them just enjoyed themselves and we were laughing to ourselves that teenagers are so afraid of displaying emotion or passion and nobody else cares. But we all went through it, and we all reach the realization that it’s more fun to just enjoy ourselves."

– Objective-Ad5620

Louder and Louder

"Being loud and obnoxious everywhere they go. Like dude no one thinks you’re or your friends are cool over there yelling penis because you think it’s funny."

– Activ_RefRigeRatoR

"I own a store kids frequent and I have had to tell them more than once to shush. The volume got so loud once an actual PAYING customer was uncomfortable."

– CalliopeKB

Be Who You Are...

"Doing things to gain other peoples approval.."

"Seriously, when you grow up and stop giving a f**k about other peoples opinions, life is so much better"

– EndlesslyUnfinished

...And Not Who You Aren't

"Being 'edgy' and 'offensive' just for the sake of it."

"Yeah, we get it. You think that mocking dead people or posting racist/sexist stuff on social media makes you a tough edgelord not to be f**ked with. No, it just makes you look like a complete tryhard."

– AlysonMazzoni

They Are

"Most high schoolers."

– Bacontoad

"Yup. The most awkward demographic that uses grunts to communicate."

– Pimp_Daddy_Patty

"I was gonna say “the word cringe” but yours’ better"

– jamieleeght

Faking It

"Pretending to have some type of disorder, like that makes them special. Like some how everyone has multiple personalities now, one of the rarest disorders of it's kind and everyone and their cousin suffers from it."

– Top-Sprinkles6929

"Faking mental disorders and saying “OMG I HAVE DEPRESSION I AM SO QUIRKY” IN THAT EXACT SENTENCE"

– w0rms1nMyEy3S

That last one is pretty sickening. It’s a good thing high schoolers grow out of it.

More from Trending/best-of-reddit

Viral Clip Of Erika Kirk's Advice To 'Young, White, Male Men' Is Getting Some Major Side-Eye

Turning Point USA CEO Erika Kirk was criticized after she visited the Arkansas Governor's Mansion and spoke with students involved with local Turning Point USA chapters, telling young white men in particular not to "let anyone disenfranchise you."

Erika Kirk—the widow of far-right activist Charlie Kirk, who was assassinated last year—warned about the "disenfranchisement" of white men while at the same time discussing hypothetical persecution against Christians.

Keep ReadingShow less
Unique and unusual LEGO collection in the toy aisle at the Target store in Queens, New York City.
Lindsey Nicholson/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Redditor Opens New Lego Set Only For It To Be Filled With Pasta—And It's A Scam That's More Common Than You Think

A Redditor thought they had scored a brand-new Lego set online, until the box revealed something far stranger than missing pieces.

Early on Tuesday, Redditor u/Bernardowss posted a photo showing labeled Lego bags sitting beside a Star Wars cruiser box filled with raw pasta. In the image, there are five bags of noodles total—and not a single brick in sight.

Keep ReadingShow less
A split screen of a man confronting a woman on an airplane, and the same woman being escorted off by security
@jcmack03/TikTok

Woman Has Full Meltdown When Airport Security Escorts Her Off Plane For Watching Videos Without Headphones

Traveling by plane can be stressful, what with checking in, going through security, and getting a spot in the overhead bin for your luggage.

Then there is the unpredictability of who will be sitting next to you on your flight. Many people's hearts drop when they see they will be sitting next to a baby or an infant, who is bound to make noise during the trip.

Keep ReadingShow less
Katherine Heigl
Manny Hernandez/Getty Images

Katherine Heigl Addresses Backlash From Fans After Attending Pet Charity Event At Mar-A-Lago

Katherine Heigl's career has been ridden with scandal ever since allegations about her conduct on the set of Grey's Anatomy back in the 2000s.

But in later years she had amassed a great deal of goodwill by owning up to her behavior and also speaking openly about the often sexist ways the scandal was talked about at the time.

Keep ReadingShow less
Denver Airport Sparks Debate After Asking For Financial Support For Unpaid TSA Agents Amid Partial Shutdown
Annabelle Gordon/AFP via Getty Images

Denver Airport Sparks Debate After Asking For Financial Support For Unpaid TSA Agents Amid Partial Shutdown

Denver International Airport (DEN) is asking travelers to donate grocery and gas gift cards to help Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents who are working without pay during the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown that began in mid February.

The shutdown stems from the 2026 DHS budget appropriation still being unapproved by Congress and the expiration of their continuing resolution authority (CRA) which funded their operations until it lapsed. This weekend, TSA workers missed their first full paycheck.

Keep ReadingShow less