How far could cancel culture go and could its effects become worse than older forms of cyberbullying? In a globalized era of Youtubers and TikTokers, it doesn’t take much to become an unofficial celebrity. Such platforms can make anyone rich and famous. And you know the old saying “Money can’t buy happiness…but it can buy you cancellations.”
Such was the case of 18-year-old Chase Hudson, a TikTok star who’s cancellation began with him cheating on his TikTok famous girlfriend, the beloved Charli D’Amelio. The process then went on to include more plausible reasons such as his use of the n-word in a video. While I totally condone calling out a white boy on using the n-word, let’s focus on the relationship aspect for a second. Being “cancelled” means that one’s actions are so immoral that they are denied the opportunity to grow or change. In essence, their career is over. TikTok was ready to destroy a life based on a very stupid but very teenage boy-esque decision. Not to mention that his love life is his own business and not the whole world’s. In my opinion, a teenage boy deserves a chance to mature before getting cancelled for cheating.
So how was cancel culture created? Initially, the boycotting of celebrities was used to call out unethical beliefs or actions, the consequences of which privileged individuals often escape. Some permanent cancellations were quite wonderfully satisfying, including sex offenders R Kelly and Harvey Weinstein.
Lately, however, the causes behind the ever-increasing number of cancellations have come into question. In certain cases, supporters of cancel culture will attack rather minuscule and irrelevant flaws in celebrities or cancel them based on false and unproven accusations. Earlier this year the hashtag #DojaIsOverParty – definitely not Twitter’s first celebration of cancellation – was trending. This is due to allegations of rapper and singer Doja Cat being present in racist online chat rooms and having a song with racist lyrics. Within a couple of days, Twitter realized that the chat room was actually not racist. Only then did Doja have the chance to explain that the meaning behind her song was misunderstood by the public as well. Need I mention the #WeAreSorryDoja hashtag that inevitably surfaced the next day? The trend has continued to reach new heights of disappointment, proving once again that Twitter needs a leash.
What shocks me most about cancel culture (more than any other internet trend gone too far) is the fact that online bullying isn’t new. So why is it so difficult for us to spot it? Let’s take a step back to the dawn of social media civilization. The days of our parents making us our first Facebook accounts and warning us about the newest plague endangering youth: ‘cyberbullying.’ Just the word cyberbullying reminds me of being 10 years old and sighing through a teacher talking about how to protect myself on the internet. Most of us knew about infamous cases like Amanda Todd’s unfortunate suicide before even being allowed to make a social media account. Since the mid-2000s, Gen Z has had plenty of time to be educated on what counts as bullying and to adopt the basic mindset that it is wrong. As a result, we should be able to draw a line between standing up for our morals and spreading exhausting negativity on the internet… right?
Need I remind us of pop star Taylor Swift being cancelled in 2016? After calling out rapper Kanye West for writing a misogynistic lyric about her, rumours circulated that she approved the lyric previously and was now playing victim by pretending that she didn’t know about it. Long story short, once Taylor explained that the lyric she approved was a different one, and then restored her reputation, she had a lot to say about the experience. She said “A mass public shaming, with millions of people saying you are quote-unquote canceled, is a very isolating experience”. She felt like she was being told to “shut up or disappear”. Taylor Swift is no small content creator, she can access the best publicists and management to protect her reputation, and yet it was this difficult to control the army of cancelers.
What worries me is the future, when the internet will only enable more people beyond such major celebrities – people of all ages, countries and financial backgrounds – to make their own content. The number of cancelled celebrities and social media stars is bound to increase, without all of them having the resources to help them recover mentally and career-wise.
Lastly, what makes it harder to stop than cyberbullying is the philosophy behind it. With cyberbullying, when you told the bullies that their actions were morally wrong, it was harder for them to come up with an argument. However, strong supporters of cancel culture claim that they boycott people for the betterment of society and thus it is justified. Beyond just cancelling young content creators for the smallest of flaws, this category of bullies may just refuse to stop. So yes, cancel culture could potentially become even more difficult to control than traditional cyberbullying.
I think Gen-Z can be an impactful, efficient group of social media users. They have used their collective power to end some very undeserving people’s highly successful and long careers. But the abuse of any power is no joke, and the future of cancel culture doesn’t look so bright. Every time we think of cancelling a celebrity or just any human being, we need to remind ourselves of the original purpose of this movement: “Am I doing this to strengthen society’s morals, or just because I hate TikTok?”. This way we can make sure we don’t come full circle from needing cyber-bullying PSAs to needing cancel culture PSAs.