There is a trend of using “cringe” to make fun of any mildly uncool or silly thing without considering its original significance. “True cringe” referred to the experience of feeling so bad inside that you would become disgusted with life due to this. Secondhand embarrassment, to the power of 100, is to capture what the torture of the soul meant.
Seeing someone else completely mortify themselves can be quite enjoyable, in a bizarre way. What if it’s simply because, for a brief moment, you look at this stupid person’s actions and you see your own past mistakes as not really that awful? It’s the internet that has broadcast cringe as a genre, but could this replace the real, soul-crushing cringe? Let’s be honest; of course not.
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