The internet is a web of crazy. In the beginning it seemed like a great way to socialize and do business; now it's just turned into a free for all of nonsense. And sadly, people are getting rich because of it. Social media can lead you to places you dare not go, but your curiosity can't help itself, so you watch. And then you wish you hadn't.
A Redditor wanted to hear about the things we wish we could all unsee on the web by asking... What is the cringiest thing you've seen on social media?I have lost track of the bad moments, and degradation that I've witnessed online. I'm clearly numb at this point. I cringe at everything, which is why I watch next to nothing anymore. People are exhausting. Let's see who agrees...
Unfamous
Sunglasses Influencer GIF by Your Happy WorkplaceGiphyRemember when that one guy recorded himself being a fool to a security guard at Vidcon and saying how he was so famous? He wasn't famous btw.
Schemers...
Educated people advertising pyramid schemes.
Recently unfollowed a dude I knew from high school who did this. He's very much the "car salesman" type, and fell into that "you should be here" travel MLM. He's been posting about flipping houses as well, and considers himself an entrepreneur. Okay bud. You have fun with that.
Liar Liar
A guy I grew up with is the biggest piece of crap I've ever met. He had absolutely zero social skills, would show up at your house unannounced all the time, and lied about freaking EVERYTHING. He claimed he had been assaulted, his house had been broken into, he'd murdered in self defense, he had purchased cocaine from a crooked cop— ALL OF THIS was disproven within nearly hours of each claim.
Then a couple years back my mom tells me he approached her at a grocery store asking if she was my mother. She said she was and asked him how he'd been. Without missing a beat, he responded, "well I'm HIV positive, but I'm okay."
I checked his Facebook and he had a GoFundMe for his "HIV treatment." His mother soon commented "he does NOT have HIV. He's lying for attention. AGAIN." Both the GoFundMe and his FB profile quickly disappeared.
Good riddance.
Trash
My favorite one was this Tik Tok of a random white girl crying and she captioned it something like "POV: it's the 50s and your black friend is getting beaten up and you have to pretend not to care" how did anyone think that was okay????
Edit: found it https://youtu.be/LQa9HsyWO7c.
Cruel!
kanye west no GIFGiphyI have this one friend who constantly gets catfished. Then he's like super public about his heartbreak and we are always like bruh! Just stop! This girl isn't real either! Ugh.
Yeah, the best of the human race is not front and center on the web. Those are things we can't undo or see. But, that as a people, seems to be where we are. So let's take a deep breath and continue.
Old Space
My old Myspace page.
Somewhere out there, there's a website floating around with my old 'clan' forum, as things used to be called. Thinking back about all the drama and cringe I had been part of... 8+ years of content...
Just an example of cringe: I was 13 or something at the time, attention starved and pretty miserable with depression, so of course I ended up pretending I'm a girl. For several years, with people I grew from 'passing acquaintance' to full on best friends. One of them, who I'm still in contact with nearly 15+ years later, even called me onee-chan...
Godda**it.
He ended up confronting me after a few years of cringe-induced 'female acting', so I came out as a guy and since kids are pretty awesome, they all accepted it as easily as anything else. Wrote a huge apology letter on the forum. It's still out there and thinking about it makes me want to delete the internet, but I love those memories I had with them. Not sure I would be alive if it wasn't for them.
Teacher/Student
My middle school teacher trying to recruit me to join her MLM.
My 7th grade Spanish teacher tried to convince our class to buy special crystals to eliminate the 'toxins' in the air. She had a ten-pound, eight-inch pyramid on her desk made of epoxy and metal shavings that she swore had supernatural powers lol.
Gross Dude
One of my friends has turned into a creep. He's older, in his 50s and he's DMing younger 20 somethings. Its really cringey.
He also is easy, he has been scammed soo many times by his instagram GF's for money, SSN and stuff. he wont learn. We did an intervention. He thinks he's an alpha that knows everything and deserves to be treated like a king by women.
Then posts in FB how pitiful he is when things get rough.
Also, dear lord his signature FB profile post is him sitting meditation style. Yes closed doing "ohmmmmm" I cant go out with him without him doing these things in landmark areas.
Unbothered...
People posting passive aggressive crap on their stories after a breakup.
Usually about how they're sooooo "unbothered" or didn't need the other person in the first place. Which, if that was actually the case, they wouldn't be posting anything about it on their stories to begin with...
Keep it to yourself and move on in private like an adult.
No Words...
People faking mental illnesses for attention. I see it exceeding the cringe threshold, but if that doesn't count - Gacha Life heat or whatever the hell it's called.
Want to "know" more? Never miss another big, odd, funny, or heartbreaking moment again. Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.
@GregAbbott_TX/X
