There are countless forms of viral videos. Cute cat videos, schadenfreude and countless others — one of the most controversial being cringe.
Cringe videos are truly a love it or hate it kind of video. They force the viewer in an incredibly uncomfortable position, but for some people, that drives them to keep going. They are certainly typically less viral than “fails” or adorable animals, but something about them strongly attracts a particular group of people.
For example, some cringe compilations have surpassed 1 million views. For whatever reason, people enjoy putting themselves through that kind of pain.
However, something that people enjoy even more is watching other people struggle through them. When you search “cringe” on YouTube and organize by view count, the top videos are nearly all famous YouTubers reacting to these cringe compilations, whether it’s PewDiePie or a Fine Bros React Video. There is something apparently appealing about watching other people, specifically famous people with whom we are familiar, struggle through these cringe videos and be put in unbelievably awkward positions.
Cringe videos are quite an enigma. It’s confusing why they’re appealing — perhaps it makes us feel better about our own behavior, or perhaps we just enjoy the awful rush we get from cringing at something. Either way, it’s definitely strange, and it surely isn’t a fad that’s over yet.
Marco Omta is a sophomore studying music production. Please note that the views and opinions of the columnists do not reflect those of The Post. How do you feel about cringe compilation videos? Email Marco at mo183714@ohio.edu.
