The cringe factor

Fair warning, this section is probably going to be cringe.

For a while, it was millennials that were labelled cringy, accused of crimes against coolness that included tucking in clothing, getting dressed up to go out, and using #blessed (that last one is fair enough).

But now, a fear of embarrassment appears to be afflicting Gen Z. Psychologist Lauren Zannettino says “young people are more self-conscious around trying new things” for fear of being mocked online. 

It’s even impacting their dating lives, with Zoomer Giovanni Wolfram saying “intellectually, I’m really all about sincerity and earnestness, but I worry about being perceived as one of those guys who is too earnest and too sincere.” The ship may have sailed with that quote, Giovanni.

Avoiding cringe appears to have become less about doing something overtly embarrassing (such as John Terry performing a diss track about Angryginge with ArrDee at the Baller League, a sentence we wrote and yet understand around 30% of), and more about showing any effort at all.

From performative men to the reaction around Oscar wins, earnest sincerity is being ignored or hidden behind affected detachment. Put simply, it can’t hurt if you don’t care.

But we may be on the verge of a course correction. Shamelessness is in vogue with the super-rich, of which certain politicians are at the apex. Often derided as the end of good taste, a little shamelessness (emphasis on the little) may help counteract the scourge of inauthenticity. 

In the dating world, chalance (an invented antonym of nonchalance) is becoming increasingly popular. Apparently, “effort is having a moment.”

Every generation has its version of trying too hard - in fact, dropping the pretence of being cool usually comes through a maturity which younger people rate as decidedly daggy. But the pressures of constant online judgement seem to have supercharged the tendency for Zoomers. 

For Giovanni’s sake, let’s hope effort’s moment lasts a little longer.