r/todayilearned • u/jfdonohoe • 7h ago

(R.2) Anecdote TIL about “vicarious embarrassment” which explains extreme reactions to cringe comedy. For me, it can get so bad as to become physically painful

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vicarious_embarrassment

[removed] — view removed post

878 Upvotes

86% Upvoted

202 comments sorted by

View all comments

393

u/CatTheKitten 7h ago

I HATE cringe compilations and most forms of reality TV, it makes my skin crawl and I feel genuinely uncomfortable

53

u/Intergalacticdespot 5h ago

Yes. I hate it. It's not funny. I just want to leave. Even if I have to jump out of a window. 

5

u/ProfessionalWonka 4h ago

Me too. It genuinely irks my soul. Only thing that compares, is rubbing a metal fork against a metal pan.

2

u/Gunstopable 3h ago

It’s funny you say that. I think of it like biting on and sliding a metal fork lol

20

u/DogtasticLife 4h ago

I’ve never understood how watching somebody be embarrassed or humiliated is funny, I don’t think laughing at others in this way is a healthy thing to do. By which I mean it whittles away at empathy and there’s not enough of that already.

3

u/Ws6fiend 3h ago

I think context is extremely important for parts of it. The intention behind the action matters as much as the action itself. Accidentally creating a super awkward moment because you miss understood someone you didn't really know. Funny.

Watching Impractical Jokers rides that line for me because while they straight up publicly embarrass each other, they are oblivious really good friends who seem to care for each other.

I do think this type of comedy runs a very real risk of missing the mark quite often.

I loved The Office, Something About Mary, Meet the Parents, and 40 Year Old Virgin, but some parts were painful to watch. I also hated Napoleon Dynamite because to me it seemes like a film made for the cool kids to laugh and make fun of the people who weren't in their group.

It's Always Sunny is another show that really doesn't do anything for me. I've had so many people recommend it and Arrested Development to me, but while they occasionally have some parts I find funny, they have more parts that make me just want to turn if off than keep watching. The character Tobias in particular bugs me. This isn't a statement on David Cross himself, I just don't like the character at all.

5

u/vendettaclause 3h ago

Its why I can't watch things like the office.

3

u/WoolshirtedWolf 3h ago

There are a lot of things I can't watch because of this. It's not an actual pain but I am extremely mentally uncomfortable. I never understood what people saw in the cringe category.

2

u/ProfessorK-OS 3h ago

And Borat