We might like some good, entertaining cringe on the screen (just think of The Office, The Rehearsal, and Borat), but we don't really like experiencing it in real life. In fact, 50% of Americans say they don't like being present for awkward situations, and 15% say they outright hate it.
Secondhand embarrassment is much more tolerable when we're far away from the situation. That's why here we have a compilation of people doing embarrassing and cringeworthy things so that you can scroll without having to feel like a turtle who wants to retract back into its shell. Laugh, wince, and cringe at these people's antics and be glad you don't have to experience them IRL.
#1 I'm I Related To My Ancestors
Image credits: big_boi_leticia
#2 “No Inheritance No Handouts”
Image credits: reddit.com
#3 Sure "Feel" For It
Image credits: PM_ME_YOUR_LAWNCHAIR
There are few things worse than embarrassment when you're a teenager. Wearing the clothes that grown-ups are wearing is cringe. Not knowing what "gyat" or "rizz" means is, like, so cringe. Listening to old dude rock 'n' roll is beyond cringe and embarrassing. All we want as teenagers is to fit in, to be like everyone else. And anything outside of that is, unfortunately, cringe.
As we age, we're less likely to think about whether how we act, how we dress, and what things we like are cringy or not. Research shows that older adults (at least 30 years and older, according to this study) are less likely to experience events that make them feel self-conscious. The older we get, it seems, the less we care about what others think of us.
#4 This Is What Nightmares Are Made Of
Image credits: imgur.com
#5 Posted A Photo Of Me And My Students On Facebook. "Old Friend" Texts Me After 2 Years To Ask About One Of Them
Image credits: Katigo93
#6 When You Accidentally Make Two Big Announcements In One Photo
Image credits: whatev3691
Perhaps sometimes it's better to embrace the cringe and not think so much about what other people will think. Chanté Joseph writes for Vice that the fear of being cringy can even stop us from doing serious things that can be detrimental to our health. People are too embarrassed to go to the gynecologist to get tested, to attend prostate exams, and even buy condoms.
At the heart of the problem is our confidence. The less self-assured we are and the less self-esteem we have, the easier it is for us to feel embarrassed by almost anything. A person might do cringy things, but if they're confident in what they're saying or doing, we might not immediately label them as cringy. Fake it 'til you make it, essentially.
#7 A Friend Lost Her Daughter Around Two Years Ago And She Shared An Image Of Her. This Guy Responded
Image credits: kooriwi
#8 Saying Something Like “Bloody Hell Or Hey Mate” It’s Simply Cringed And Forced
Image credits: miguelhempit
#9 Stop
Image credits: ElectronicDuck7532
Clinical psychologist Dr. Martha Deiros Collado told Joseph that to free yourself from the torment of cringe you must accept yourself. "All of us can be cringe at some point – absurdity is just a part of what makes us human," she pointed out.
"If you can learn to appreciate the cringey sides of yourself, laugh at them with others and accept it's just a part of you – you're more likely to land in a place of joy and contentment than embarrassment and shame."
#10 This Pregnancy Announcement
Image credits: mustardsmoothie
#11 Guilt Tripping Your 3 Yo Child Into Nursing Is Gross
Image credits: reddit.com
#12 I Love When People Flirt By Excessively Complimenting Themselves
Image credits: inknaut
Some experts say that with so much of our lives being online, we're more stressed about appearing cringy. Think to yourself: how many times have you not posted something out of fear of embarrassment? "This picture is too cringe" or "People will think this quote is too cliché and embarrassing," you might've thought to yourself.
#13 Posts On Public Facebook From My Dad
These are his adventures with his Replica girlfriend. I thought he was joking at first but I think he believes it's his real girlfriend.
Image credits: luvbugz1
#14 That Time When The Cb Is The Seller
Image credits: ExitTheDonut
#15 Thomas Sanders Writes Himself A Compliment On His Food Delivery Instructions
Image credits: reddit.com
Things on the Internet stay there (mostly) forever. That's what drives our fear the most. It's not that we'll feel embarrassed in the moment, but that we'll have to look back on it and feel the cringe every single time. Psychologist Dr. Tara Quinn-Cirillo explained to HuffPost that when we make an embarrassing mistake online, it keeps us tied to our past selves. "It may not allow us the previously 'natural' transition we go through in life," she said.
#16 How To Spot A Narcissist
Image credits: zlta
#17 Sick Show
Image credits: reddit.com
#18 Jesus Christ What The Hell
Image credits: GhastlyCain
When a person defends their "cringy" behavior earnestly, it's not really cringe. Long gone are the days when people were shamed for being a Star Wars nerd or playing Dungeons & Dragons. Nowadays, cringy behavior is more about people putting up a front, claiming they're cooler, better, or more intelligent than they actually are.
#19 No, I Think That's A One Man Boat
Image credits: Lord-Wombat
#20 The Cringe Is Strong
Image credits: artvandal_a
#21 She Did It Y’all
Hugging/sensually sniffing the tree while holding like a curtain or something saved the environment. Next time I make an apology I have my to do steps. Why not like.. idk, make a text post to remind people to be kind to earth. This. This is just cringe to me.
Image credits: AmandaKathleen
As Mellisa Dahl, author of Cringeworthy: How to Make the Most of Uncomfortable Situations, told Elle UK, it's about how we want to be perceived. "It's when you can sense that the version of yourself you're trying to present to the world isn't really you. When there's this gap between who you want to be and how the world actually perceives you. That is where the cringe comes in."
#22 Unhinged
Image credits: VigilantProcessing
#23 Guy On Facebook Photoshops 2 Girls He Likes Into His Birthday Photo. They Then Block Him
Image credits: reddit.com
#24 Asked A Guy If He Wanted To Hangout
Image credits: awkward_middle_child
Is there a good side to calling out cringe other than it being a form of self-discipline? Some say that yes, a healthy dose of shame is necessary for us all. In today's society that is over-individualistic, caring about what others think might take us back to the times when community mattered, Taya Cohen, associate professor of organizational behavior and business ethics at Carnegie Mellon University, believes.
#25 Oh No
Image credits: reddit.com
#26 "Pries Open Your Casket"
Image credits: BasiliskMuffin
#27 Making Dad's Funeral All About Your Degeneracy
Image credits: KamenAkuma
"In the past, if you wanted to fit in within your local community, you had to act in a way most people thought was appropriate," Cohen told Vox. "On the internet, a person can behave in ways that the vast majority of people find completely unacceptable, but they're getting positive feedback in the form of people sharing it."
#28 Normal Guy Selfie
Image credits: justoswizzy
#29 Let’s Name Our Baby After How We Met
Image credits: tbd2233
#30 Actual Post By A Congresswoman
Image credits: AMinorPleb
As long as shaming for being cringe doesn't turn into bullying, we might just be okay. We shouldn't yuck other people's yums. But perhaps we also shouldn't normalize people squeezing pineapples between their thighs and drinking the juice for online attention.
There are heaps of examples of shame-worthy behavior in this list, too. Let us know which of these pics you deem to be the most cringeworthy and embarrassing by upvoting your favorites!
#31 I'm Embarrassed
Image credits: fletche00
#32 As A Meat Eater, Am I The Only One Who Finds Anti-Vegetarian Humor Trite And Cringe Worthy?
Image credits: nomadictones
#33 I Accidentally Texted My 14yo Step Son Instead Of My Wife
Image credits: reddit.com
#34 Thought It Was A Joke Until I Saw The Picture
Image credits: EmperorUmi
#35 Football/Soccer Fan Account With 11k Followers Plans A Meet Up For His "Fans"
Image credits: fap4jesus
#36 Dumb
Image credits: MichaelEMJAYARE
#37 This Is Not Satire
Found on Instagram this morning, was watching a video from an American creator titled "European fashion trends" I just knew I would find this comment. This is not satire; looking at her following comments, she genuinely believes this.
Image credits: GlitteringLocality
#38 "In This House, We Do Disney"
Image credits: reddit.com
#39 This Made Me Cringe So Hard
Image credits: AmeliaJane920
#40 She Wants A Baby. He Doesn't. They Argue About It On Facebook
Image credits: Laysyartist84
#41 Girl At My School Can't Sing, Embarrassed Our School At Graduation, And Someone Decided To Try To Help Her Out
Image credits: Alikeseeker
#42 Why Do People At This Age Type Like That
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#43 Totally True... I Was The Water
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#44 Don’t Let A Dead Parent Stop You From Trying Fire Pick-Up Lines
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#45 Did Not And Still Do Not Know Why A Random Guy Sent Me This And Then Tried To Flex With What Looks Like A Very Awkward Prom Photo
Image credits: BreezyBritt89
#46 Cringe Officer
Image credits: EpicCadero
#47 After All That
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#48 She Sounds Nice
Image credits: MrsKurtz
#49 Intellectual Made Cringe By A Reference He Doesn't Get, But He "Probably Wouldn't Understand"
Image credits: tadhgconn
#50 A Guy Flirts And Fights With My Auto-Reply
My Facebook page has an auto reply on, but this guy is looking for…. Love? A fight? Not sure haha.
Image credits: reddit.com
#51 Who Said Romance Is Dead?
Image credits: Dolamite09
#52 Went To A Spongebob Themed Rave, But It Turns Out I Was One Of The Only People That Was There
Image credits: gintherthegreat
#53 He Did This To Two Other Girls
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#54 Man Gets Married To His Inflatable Wolf, Has Even The Inflatable Furry Community Weirded Out
Image credits: KabiKav
#55 What Is Better Than Pet Rock? Pet Leech!
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#56 I Have No Words But Come Back Here Tomorrow Because We Have A Few Competitions This Week Leading Up To Colour Your Passion And Our Vouchers Will Buy The Whole Chicken And Salad A Whole Lettuce
Image credits: Colored Girls Rock!!!
#57 Christ
Image credits: SoonerFan619
#58 A Friend Of Mine Posts Stuff Like This Regularly... It’s So Cringy
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#59 So Cool
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#60 My Coworker Texted Me
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#61 Turkey Mediates Between Ukraine And Russia
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#62 My Ex's Mom: I Met Her Once For About An Hour Over 4 Years Ago. I Haven't Talked To Him Or Her Since
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#63 Some Pervert Left A Nice Big Tip
Image credits: JesusIsMySecondSon
#64 Wow, The Only Gen Z Kid To Ever Listen To Pink Floyd
Image credits: Smooth_Shirt_7381
#65 Question Answered
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#66 It’s My Birthday Today And My Best Friend’s S**mbag Dad Messaged Me This
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#67 I'm Glad I Grew Up. Read This From Fb Memories And Cringed Hard
Image credits: tattynbatty
#68 Mom And Dad Are Cringe, But The Sibling One? Ew
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#69 A Man Looked At Her In The Gym
Image credits: Silver_Weakness_8084
#70 I'm Not A Normie, I Drink Whole Milk And I'm In A Constant State Of Improvement
Image credits: Queasy_Rent1028
#71 Speaks For Itself
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#72 Dairy Queen Is Relatable
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#73 This Is Horrible
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#74 Took A Travel Job That Paid For Lodging. This Is The Room They Gave Me
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#75 I Guess He Wants Salt For Christmas
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#76 Big Brick Store. I Felt It Was A Little Cringe
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#77 Mlm Forgot To Change Her Recruiting Template While Messaging Strangers On Fb
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#78 Cool
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#79 How Do People Not Get Embarrassed Doing This?
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#80 A Whole Chicken?
It's getting to where you can't even take a roast chicken on a long flight anymore.
Image credits: imgur.com
#81 Oh Yea This Happens To Me All The Time! So Embarrassing
Image credits: sammybr00ke
#82 I Just Fumbled My Crush Trying To Make A Joke
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#83 Cringe
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#84 This Guy’s Response To Me Telling Him That I’ve Been Going Through A Difficult Time
Was going through old messages to clear up some space and came across this gem.
Image credits: livw17
#85 Kate Upton Set Up A $200,000 Gofundme For Her Friend's Lake House
Justin Verlander (husband) is worth an estimated $150 million against Kate Upton's staggering $280 million.
Image credits: myalternateself0101
#86 You Had Me At “An Awkward St***r That Doesn’t Know When To Shut Up”
Image credits: worrisomefox
#87 Seems Like A Cool Guy
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#88 That Cold Foam Went Straight To Her Head
Image credits: Blue-Wolverine
#89 "I Am The Storm"
Image credits: angel_dusted
#90 Oh My Cringe
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#91 She Has Less Than 500 Followers
Image credits: Otherwise_Chemical85
#92 Emotionally Intelligent Toddler
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#93 I Really Wouldn't Want To Be That Guy
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#94 What Is Wrong With These People
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#95 Unfortunate Background
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#96 Awful Instagram Bio I Found
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#97 My Coworker Gatekeeping A Date Shake. He Does This Like This All The Time
Image credits: FartSoup000
#98 Cringe Novel
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#99 This Car
Image credits: meowfttftt
#100 I Would Think It Was A High-End UNO Set As Well
Image credits: DionGR
