Cancel Culture: The Internet’s Favorite Hobby

Hey everyone! In today’s blog, I want to talk about something we’ve all encountered online before: cancel culture. It’s loud, messy, and sometimes really confusing. Lately, I’ve been wondering if we understand what cancel culture is, or if we’ve just gotten used to reacting without really thinking.

Sometimes, it only takes one moment for everything to flip. A video, a comment, or something from the past can resurface and go viral in a heartbeat. One minute someone’s minding their business, and the next, they’re trending with the word “canceled” attached to their name. It’s wild. Cancel culture has become a massive part of online life, but the truth is, it’s way more complicated than just unfollowing someone or deleting a post.

Image From: NBC News; Getty Images

The Power of Accountability

Let’s be real, calling people out can be necessary. Sometimes it’s the only way to get justice, especially when the usual systems fail. Cancel culture has given people a voice when no one else would listen. It’s become a way to hold those in power accountable when everything else falls flat. Think of movements like #MeToo, where stories that were ignored for years finally got attention. In those moments, cancel culture wasn’t about revenge, it was solely about truth. It gave people a chance to be heard, and it showed that harmful actions, no matter how hidden or old, still matter.

When Cancel Culture Turns Toxic

However, like any trend the internet touches, cancel culture can go off the rails fast. One person says something dumb, someone else digs up a screenshot from 2012, and suddenly there is a whole army of angry usernames tearing them apart. Some people get canceled over genuine harm. Others get canceled for… breathing wrong? It is hard to keep up.

What started as a way to demand justice can quickly turn into a digital free-for-all. It gives people a reason (or maybe just an excuse) to go off at someone, to unleash their anger behind a screen, often without knowing the full story. And because it is happening online, there is no pause button. No space for reflection. Just instant judgment and an audience to cheer it on. The goal stops being growth or change. It starts feeling more like punishment for sport. At that point, it is less about accountability and more about creating a spectacle

Growth vs. Erasure

Here’s a wild concept: what if people are actually capable of learning? I know, shocking. But seriously, if we’re so quick to cancel someone the second they mess up, are we really giving them a chance to grow? Or are we just looking for someone to blame?

There’s a big difference between holding someone accountable and completely writing them off. Growth takes time, and yeah, people make mistakes, sometimes really bad ones. But if we’re not willing to let anyone move forward, what exactly are we expecting from them? What’s the point of calling something out if we don’t leave room for change?

The Role of Social Media

Social media is like a megaphone with no volume control. One post and suddenly the internet knows your name, your cat’s name, your third-grade report card. The platforms that give people the power to speak up also make it way too easy to pile on without context. And let’s be honest, sometimes people care more about going viral than actually making a difference. Outrage gets clicks. Nuance doesn’t.

When the Internet Forgets, What Was It All For?

Here’s the irony. In a lot of cases, time passes and people forget. The same person who was canceled is suddenly back on red carpets, posting selfies, getting likes, and everything feels normal again. So what was the point? If our response is just to attack, cancel, and then eventually move on like nothing happened, who actually learns anything? Real accountability gets lost in the noise. Maybe instead of trying to destroy someone in the moment, we should be asking what long-term change really looks like, not just for them, but for us too.

Those are just my thoughts, but I’d love to hear yours too. Feel free to share what you think in the comments!