Ditching perfectly filtered selfies and carefully curated memes for posts that show our real, messy selves might feel embarrassing, but it’s good for us
I’ve always been hyperaware of how I am perceived. Like most “digital natives”, I know my angles, have perfected the art of the not-too-earnest Instagram caption and frantically delete my drunken Instagram Stories the morning after a big night out. But now we’re being urged to let our most “cringe” selves loose on the internet and I, for one, am in favour.
Meme accounts such as @afffirmations are encouraging a new type of online oversharing – accepting that, ultimately, we are all embarrassing on social media. “I am cringe, but I am free” memes have swept Instagram, with dedicated cringe accounts cropping up alongside increased engagement in behaviour that would once have induced days of dread.
