Why Cancel Culture Isn't Real

Two Syllables: CAN-CELED!

Society never seems to disappoint, one of the great things about our world is that it keeps changing. Now whether that be for good or bad it still keeps things interesting. Something that has become accustom to internet culture (cyberculture) would be "Canceled Culture"which has sort of kind of transposed over into actual reality but honestly it's more of an social media trend. 

So what is "Canceled Culture" and how do we experience it? Well before we define it we actually have to beware that there are two variations of this kind of culture, besides being "Cancelled" this kind of culture is also referred to as "Call-out Culture" which though I would argue are pretty much the same thing they actually have different definitions. 

Canceled Culture: a form of boycott in which someone (typically a celeb) has shared a questionable opinion, or has had problematic behavior called out on social media. Usually begins with an expression or opinion that is racist/sexist/homophobic/transphobic/xenophobic 

As Opposed to, 

Call-out Culture: a from of public shaming where people identify offenses committed by members of their community and publicly "call out" the offenders, thus shaming or punishing them. Prompting aim to hold individuals and groups accountable for their actions by calling attention to problematic behavior, typically on social media. 

(Both of these definitions can be found on Wikipedia)

Though these trends are pretty similar there are some slight differences, Canceled Culture seems to be more focused on celebrities while Call-out Culture more so points out offensive actions or language by people online through social media. Regardless both trends end up with the same result in the end. 

It's Not Real

Neither one of these trends really has actual physical/tangible consequences. Sure they may publicly point out something problematic online but ultimately they are both are a form of boycott. Which I mean without violence is legal, right? 

Celebrities or Influencers are more likely to be affected by losing followers or their fan base. Yet, when you think about it that's kind of just the day in age we live in. Even before social media people have formed their own opinions and support for famous individuals, some have even spoken out about the things they say or do that may seem problematic, offensive, or just anything they don't like in general. The only difference between pre-social media and post-social media are the platforms we are given. Which in retrospect has a lot of benefits, especially when it comes to global news.

I know there are people out there who find Cancel Culture to be extreme or another way of proof that the Millennial's display how everything offends them (Yes, I am a Millennial). But ultimately I think that certain people feel that way because social media allows everyone to voice their opinion with ease. What I mean is that typing on a phone and posting a hashtag allows people the opportunity to reach thousands of other people around the international wide web. Which would then allow people to bond, learn, and share common interests or information. Thus, making it easy to generalize and entire generation even though it really goes far beyond just Millennial's.

What Do I Even Mean? 

The point is that people criticizing this now labeled trend is sort of a way to try and police what people say. Now I want to also say that I think it's fine to hate 'Cancel Culture' we are all entitled to how we feel and what annoys us. To say it's something entirely new is not true at all. To tell someone they shouldn't contribute a personal opinion on a topic or issue on a social platform is equal to telling them they are not allowed to share their own ideas. Twitter was basically made to share ideas, anecdotes, and humor. 

Cancel/Call-Out Culture really isn't something that we can stop because well it's always been around. Holding people accountable for their actions on the internet is not problematic. It's problematic to try and take away people's right to express how the feel or view a topic. Because we're all human. We all have something to say, even when we don't need to chime in, that's part of freedom of speech.

So I guess what I'm trying to say is that these trends are not that big of deal. If they bother you so much, maybe you should think about the last time you told someone about something that bothered you even though it had nothing to do with you. That would be very similar as to someone who went online to express their feelings about a famous person, or sharing their thoughts about something they saw online. 

Not a big deal.

Blame Millennial's 

On a another similar topic, something I find interesting is how people talk about Millennial's, and that we seem to be the reason Cancel Culture exists.  

My current job that I have I do work with people who are significantly older than me, what I mean by that is that they're a part of older generations with maybe different perceptions or even points of view than me and my average group of friends. 

Whenever one of my older coworkers talk about Millennial's, they all seem to agree that my generation gets offended by everything and even refers to us as crybabies. Yet, they always make a point to say, "Except you Sky, not you," which is very weird to me. 

Even though I'm a part of this generation that currently gets a lot of backlash over expressing our feelings on various topics, I'm the exception? I don't think people expressing their feelings and or being offended by things is just a Millennial trait/habit/characteristic. I think that social media has opened up a way for people to speak out confidently because they feel safe behind a screen. 

Take this blog post as an example, it is so much easier to for me to type what I think instead of having to have in person conversations with people. It's also less exhausting because I'm not stressed out about face-to-face interactions or immediate disagreement. It is easier to express our feelings online. We can carefully layout our point of view and go into as much specifics and details as we desire. As someone who sort of grew up on social media, I think that might be what influences the notion that us Millennial's are 'crybabies' who are 'offended' by everything. 

However, I would like to add that I think when anyone finds the internet and realizes they can post without fear they are more likely to open up and share personal ideas and feelings. I don't believe that this is strictly a generational thing, I think it's a social media thing. 

We can't say that only Millennial's use social media because that's not true. We were just the first generation that grew up using these platforms. 

What could be perceived as whiny, offended, crybaby content is really just people expressing how they feel online because they don't feel threatened. If you wanna argue that majority of people online that express their feelings are Millennial's, (which could be true I suppose) you're not looking into why that could be. I think often the generation I'm a part of is labeled this way because people don't ask themselves why we as a generation would be comfortable opening up online.

The only reason I bring any of this up to begin with, is because that's a major critique on Cancel Culture. Us emotional Millennial's invented calling out problematic people on the internet, which ultimately does not make sense if a variety of people are contributing content online while expressing how they feel. To target our generation as the creator of Cancel Culture, makes us seem as if we are the only ones contributing to it and as if we are somehow bad guys in this scenario.

I think it's fair to point out that every generation has stigmas against them, which is evidence that we all don't really look into the background of each generation we just generalize and criticize. I do not feel as if it is necessary to point out all the stigmas of current generations because it does not contribute to the overall topic of this post. However, I do think it is important to note that I'm not trying to say Millennial's are the only generation that is marginalized and criticized. I do think we get blamed for all things having to do with internet trends which is just a little ridiculous to me when so many people use the internet. 

Hear Me Out, 

It's easy to generalize an entire group of people, any community of people. The issue with this is that it just forms and encourages stigmas and prejudices against those communities of people. 

Personally I'm not offended if you disagree with anything I say or think, I think it's okay for people to open up dialogues even when they may have complete opposite points of view. I do not write this posts in hopes that people will argue with me, I write them in hopes of displaying a different perspective on controversial topics. 

Honestly I don't mind being a Millennial, but when people find out how old I am they have all these pre-determined notions about my work ethic, my emotional intelligence, and how intelligent I am in general. Which is relatively frustrating, of course it is not the end of the world and I think there are communities of people that deal with far worse stigmas than Millennial's. 

My point is that taking something popular on the internet that you may find annoying, and placing it on a group of people as if they're responsible for creating a trend then criticizing them is just so excessive, and basically just generalizing things. It's like picking an antagonist because it fits the narrative. Cancel Culture existed before it was on the internet. The only difference between then and now would be the fact that opinions reach a larger number of people which then allows them the opportunity to share their ideas together. For example, hashtags are a huge part of raising awareness when large quantities of people come to the conclusion that they have an issue with something and want to find a way to spread awareness. 

All social media trends involve a wide range of various types of people. Of course they may seem popular to certain age groups but that doesn't mean they're limited to those age groups.

Of course I don't expect to change your mind.

I just think it's important to talk about these kinds of social commentaries because we need to stop generalizing things that just are not that big of a deal. Social media is problematic, but it's not problematic for allowing individuals the opportunity to analyze and question what people say and do. I mean that's essentially what my blog allows me to do. I can explore ideas, connect with people, allow others to see a different perspective even if they hate mine. 

If we all sat back and never held people accountable for offensive things they do we're really not working towards a better society. I know so many people who complain about younger generations getting offended by everything, thus ruining enjoyment that others experience. But have you ever thought that maybe there's a rational reason behind that? 

I'm not talking about the people who get upset about Starbucks coffee cups. I'm talking about the people who point out outdated problematic humor, abusive celebrities who got away with assault, or sexual abuse, famous individuals who are hypocritical about what they preach, influencers whose public apologies are not really apologies, maybe the fact that YouTube demonetizes certain videos that aren't really harmless but monetizes videos straight up support creators who are manipulating child viewers, even politicians who abuse their power or say racist/sexist/homophobic/transphobic/xenephobic remarks, etc. the list can truly go on forever.

Though social media has toxic effects, it is a device that allows us each an opportunity to learn from one another and opens up a dialogue for discussion of any topic imaginable. That is crucial for societal growth in understand each other. 

When we stop questioning things, caring about what people do or say, and holding each other accountable we will start to fall a part as a nation. 

Which is not hard to do.