Written by By: Aryan Gidwani
Only 44% of Americans have heard the term “cancel culture”. It has steadily grown on online social media platforms, but what really is it? Cancel culture is a concept that encourages the idea of “cancelling” people for ideologies and possibly offensive beliefs one may have. These strong opinions, whether said in the past or in the current (present), triggers the idea of cancel culture to arise. Cancel culture has a plethora of victims; however, many even more instead of many celebrities are prone to cancel culture, as much of their life and what they do and say can be found.
Dr. Jill McCorkel, a professor of criminology and sociology, proposes that cancel culture arises from our own past. She finds that cancel culture “is an extension of or a contemporary evolution of a much bolder set of social processes.” In other words, much of the ideologies of cancel culture have always been present in the society, as different groups of people may punish others for what they have said or done. Personally, through social media, I have heard of the term “cancel culture”. From my own experience, many of the biggest, most popular internet celebrities on large platforms like YouTube and Twitch have been getting cancelled online, because their online presence makes it easy to access what they have said or done in the past. In fact, plenty of my favorite YouTubers have found themselves on the brink of being cancelled on platforms like Twitter and Instagram for primary things they have said or done in the past. Additionally, of my favorite authors, like J.K. Rowling and Dr. Seuss, have been under the fire for comments that have gone had been neglected in the past ,but have been noticed by the general public now. The consequences of getting cancelled are clear: it will cause their personal and online status to be tarnished.
Personally, I believe that cancel culture will not be “solved”. It has been present for centuries, and will only continue to get larger as it gains more traction with social media. Much of this gets us thinking: is cancel culture, no need to put a comma good or bad? Christian Cooper who is he? finds that ripping apart the lives of those who get got cancelled may not serve the right purpose and may not solve the problem. It may have good intentions, but does it really help?
Works Cited
Kato, B. What is cancel culture? Everything to know about the toxic online trend. New York Post, 31 Aug 2021, https://nypost.com/article/what-is-cancel-culture-breaking-down-the-toxic-online-trend/.
Vogels, EA, Anderson, M, Porteus M, et al. “Americans and ‘Cancel Culture’: Where Some See Calls for Accountability, Others See Censorship, Punishment.” Pew Research Center: Internet, Science & Tech, Pew Research Center, 27 Sept 2021, http://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2021/05/19/americans-and-cancel-culture-where-some-see-calls-for-accountability-others-see-censorship-punishment/.
Graham, Jennifer. “Cancel Culture Is Entering a Dangerous New Phase. but There Is a Key to Getting Out.” Deseret News, Deseret News, 23 Aug. 2020, https://www.deseret.com/indepth/2020/8/22/21362516/cancel-culture-forgiveness-j-k-rowling-carson-king-apology-moral.
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