Cancel Culture: Is It Reasonable?
Charli Damelio, Chase Hudson, and Shane Dawson all have a thing in common, victims of cancel culture, but how? Cancel culture is defined as the withdrawal of support of someone due to their offensive behavior or careless actions, ultimately every influencer's worst fear on the internet. It holds influencers up to a higher standard, making them think before they act to prevent controversy. While it can be a good thing, some viewers have taken this as an excuse to cyberbully.
Cancel culture is often viewed as intense, but it has its benefits. Like every human, influencers make mistakes, but their mistakes are caught easier due to the high expectations that fans or media consumers hold them up to. Cancel culture holds people accountable for their wrongdoing, which is why it’s viewed as beneficial. It is notorious for bringing light to problems like social injustice in today's modern world. With the right influencers, they are open to when they are wrong, and will correct and apologize for their actions before the situation gets out of hand.
Cancel culture provides a voice for minority groups that don’t have as big of a voice as the majority in real life on the internet. It helps people who may have not felt fully included in society by informing influencers about topics that can be deemed as sensitive or offensive to these groups. With these small changes, it makes media more enjoyable for everyone and creates a more peaceful environment for people to interact in.
Benefits of cancel culture also come with its cons. Rumors and even misleading information spread easily on social media, and done rapidly. Overnight, a person's career can be diminished and the view of them changed just like that. Even when a situation has cooled down or resolved, it is burned into the internet forever and left in their digital footprint.
On the same topic of digital footprint, consumers have also dug into influencer’s digital footprints and have found old stuff to use and cancel them. It’s common in the media today and ruins people’s images. Cancel culture can be so intense that it is considered cyberbullying in some cases. Like regular bullying, it takes a toll on the victim’s mental health. Influencer’s may only receive backlash and threats instead of being held accountable. Cyberbullying is considered easier to do than bullying because it is done online behind a screen, making cancel culture seem more harsh due to its capabilities.
In order to bring change on the internet, it's important to know how to properly hold people accountable. There are many ways to do this. Some examples are educating, creating an environment that promotes growth, and being compassionate for people who make mistakes. Implementing these solutions separates the influencers who are willing to change versus the ones who aren’t.
Cancel culture is and will continue to play a big part on social media moving forward. It has its benefits like holding people accountable and giving voices to minorities, but it can also be used to spread misleading information and as an excuse to cyberbully. Cancel culture shouldn’t be fully relied on to educate people. By bringing awareness to certain topics, influencers can be educated and change how media is.
1. On Our Moon. (n.d.). Cancel culture: The good, the bad, & its impact on social change. On Our Moon. Retrieved March 13, 2025, from https://onourmoon.com/cancel-culture-the-good-the-bad-its-impact-on-social-change/
2. Britannica. (2023, September 28). Cancel culture debate. Britannica. Retrieved March 13, 2025, from https://www.britannica.com/procon/cancel-culture-debate
3. Therapy Group DC. (2021, March 16). The psychology of cancel culture: Impacts on mental health. Therapy Group DC. Retrieved March 13, 2025, from https://therapygroupdc.com/therapist-dc-blog/the-psychology-of-cancel-culture-impacts-on-mental-health/
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