In our world today, we are almost always on some form of technology. It’s now normal to have our whole lives broadcasted on internet. All over social media, you can see influencers and content creators that many idolize. They are loved and praised by many, which can make them feel unstoppable. But then sometimes, something else comes into play that is targeting these creators, and its name is Cancel Culture.
Boycotts and attacks on influencers can tear them apart in a number of seconds. These individuals’ lives can change forever. Cancel Culture is very damaging to the recipient in various ways. There are explanations as to why Cancel Culture exists, what triggers it, and how Cancel Culture could possibly affect someone long-term.
Cancel Culture became increasingly common in 2019 and grew even more prevalent in 2020. Cancel Culture usually starts on a social media and continues to expand on platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter. One of the biggest apps for Cancel Culture habitat is called TikTok.
TikTok is available on iPhone and Android devices. On this app, you can record, edit, and upload videos that are up to sixty seconds long. You also have access to a huge variety of audios and can even make your own audios. According to wallaroomedia.com, the TikTok app had been downloaded over two billion times by April 29th, 2020, which means this app that has skyrocketed in downloads within the past two years. With this many downloads, a lot of different people may use TikTok, and some of these people may not have the best intentions.
Influencers on these social medias can gain millions and millions of followers, but having this many people watching you at once comes with a price, mainly trying to avoid being cancelled. Creators must try to be perfect and pertain to everybody. If you manage to make even one person upset, everyone will hop on. You could be taken down and become the next victim of Cancel Culture. As an influencer, you may feel as though you are walking on eggshells, trying not to become the next big cancelled influencer of the week.
A great example of this is a TikTok user named Duke Depp, whose username on this platform is WillyWonkaTikTok. He creates all sorts of entertaining videos where he is acting as the character Willy Wonka from Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory. Many people quickly fell in love with his videos, and he acquired a large fan base. Although, as he gained more and more popularity, some people started to cancel him, claiming that he seemed different and that the fame changed him, even though his content stayed the same in all his videos, and he didn’t do anything outwardly wrong. He made comments on his other platforms, addressing how this situation hurt him and that he really didn’t know why he was being cancelled for gaining popularity. If Cancel Culture doesn’t see an opportunity to cancel someone, they will make up an opportunity themselves.
Abagail Carte is a 19-year-old sophomore at West Virginia University. She is active on almost every popular social media.
“My biggest experience with Cancel Culture was when beauty influencer James Charles was cancelled two years ago for being accused of being a terrible person by a few fellow YouTubers. What they claimed James did turned out to be false; he didn’t do any of what these YouTubers said he did. Like, the craziest part was how quick he got cancelled before any of the facts could really come out. He had no time to deny the allegations or defend himself. He lost three million subscribers in a day just because everyone wanted to hop on like it was a trend.”
When the word gets out, whether true or false, social media travels fast. Before a statement could even be made, he was cancelled. He got thousands of hate comments and lost millions of fans within a day.
Isaiah Taylor is an 18-year-old Freshman at Marshall University. He is almost always on YouTube.
“Cancel Culture is where a group of people on the internet boycott and insult another group or singular person for a negative action or response. I have experienced this recently, a Youtuber named Mini Ladd is being cancelled due to him denying allegations that have evidence to be true. He won’t admit it in a video on YouTube but will admit it on Twitter where he has less following. I think he needs to own up to his mistake like a real Youtuber would, or he will just be cancelled.”
We can see that influencers are very terrified of Cancel Culture. If you want people to trust in you as an influencer, the best option is to be honest and upfront with every one of them.
Nathan Ansell is 16 years old and attends Midland Trail High School. He is involved in social gaming communities.
“Very recently a streamer I used to watch as a kid got outed and cancelled for something he did. He ended up fleeing the country. He then tried to lie to his fans and acted like it was no big deal. Until everyone had enough and went harder with cancelling him until he admitted it. Cancel Culture is crazy but sometimes deserved.”
Some people may see Cancel Culture as no big deal or even believe that it could never happen to them. As long as you are in the public eye and have done something that is deemed Cancel-worthy or accused of it, it has a chance of happening to you or someone you know.
In Cancel Culture, the possibilities of what you could be cancelled for are endless, and people may do everything in their power to take down your platform and cancel you. An example of what you can get cancelled for is your stances or beliefs. Say you support a certain political party, and you post your beliefs and opinions on social media, some or many people may disagree with your opinions and cancel you. The same can apply to people with opposing beliefs; any group has the ability to cancel another group or person.
The ways a person can be cancelled are severely harsh. People will take you down in your comments, make fun of you, bully, and just overall make you feel unwelcome, and this can occur in seconds. It is scary that this can happen to a person for what they believe in, the way they dress, what they say or do, and more. If you disagree with someone, the best thing to do is scroll away or civilly discuss why you disagree. Harassment and cancelling are unlikely to do anything but tear that person down mentally.
Although, there are a lot of bad people in our world who do horrible things and stay on social media. These people can be individuals who we look up to and are later exposed for their wrongdoings. For example, there are actually a few creators that have gotten big on social media that have been exposed for going after or being predatory towards others. The people who commit crimes should be charged, have trials in a court of law, and go to jail if convicted, instead of just being taken down on social media and the court of public opinion.
We should consider that others can grow. People need to know what they did wrong and learn to grow from their mistakes. Cancelling someone will make them feel more depressed, hurt, and threatened. They will feel as if they will never achieve growth and will be alone. We should teach these people that yes, what they did was wrong and might always be, but you have room in yourself to grow and change.
Individuals who have been the victim of Cancel Culture have been driven to depression, loneliness, or even suicide attempts. No matter what, no one deserves the type of negativity and hatred that Cancel Culture breeds. People who harass, bully, threaten, and boycott are all people who love and indulge in Cancel Culture.
In the end, all we can hope is that people will be kinder and normalize growth. Everybody on our planet has made a mistake. You, me, and even the person you look up to the most has made a mistake sometime in their lifetime. The effects of being cancelled are very damaging and could affect someone’s mental health long-term.
To see the end of Cancel Culture, we need to come together to normalize growth instead of ruining one another’s life. We should all educate others about right and wrong and be better together and maybe one day, Cancel Culture will be cancelled.