Editorial: Let people enjoy what they enjoy
The Iowa State Daily Editorial Board argues that calling young people “cringey” for using new social media platforms the same way we once did is hypocritical.
November 12, 2019
Throughout the past few years, new social media platforms have been created and have risen in popularity. With these new apps comes new trends, fads and viral videos.
When we see people younger than us using these platforms, it’s easy to jump to calling them “embarrassing” or “cringey.” But in reality, a lot of us did the same thing in a different way growing up, and bullying others does no good for anyone and does not accomplish any goal.
A good example of this for people our age is Facebook. For many of us, our memories bring up statuses that were posted years ago that we thought were funny and necessary to be on social media. Looking back, those posts may seem cringe-worthy, but it was part of us growing up and expressing ourselves.
For younger kids today, they may not be using Facebook as we did, but TikTok and Snapchat are their “Facebook” in a sense. Calling younger generations “cringey” for playing around on social media just as we did is hypocritical. Sure, it may be in a different way with a larger audience, but we did the same things growing up, just on a different platform.
But no matter what age someone is, it’s simple: let people enjoy things that make them happy. Calling someone “cringey” for posting on an app that you aren’t a fan of or for talking about a certain fandom or band they like doesn’t get anyone anywhere.
As long as you are being respectful and not participating in negative behavior or being racist, sexist, homophobic, etc., enjoy what you want on the internet; there is no need to make fun of others for enjoying things you don’t like.
It doesn’t matter what age you are. If you only want to post about Doctor Who or Supernatural or K-pop, all the power to you. If you don’t want to post about any of that stuff or like it, then let it be. Your accounts are personal for a reason. If you’re not being hateful and discriminatory or derogatory, post about the things you like and don’t ridicule others for doing the same. Post on TikTok. Retweet articles about celebrity gossip. It’s up to you.
