Cancel culture and the digital era: is it just a trend?

Cancel culture has gained popularity all over the world, artists are losing their fans, TV personalities are losing their jobs and online influencers are losing followers. What do all of them have in common while being “cancelled”? Mistakes related to racism, sexism, and intolerance towards sensitive themes. While some people call this cancel culture something that should have happened a long time ago, others say it is just a trend that is way too exaggerated. Here’s a sneak peek into what cancel culture has become in the digital era:

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Why cancel culture and why nowadays?

Cancel culture has somehow emerged as a response to bullying and after a long time of denial towards sensitive justice. In a way, its intentions are good, trying to call out those who act with intolerance or who do not take into consideration other people’s feelings. What has made this new approach easier to happen it’s definitely the huge number of celebrities that are present on social media, expressing their opinions, lifestyle choices, and views. It would have been harder to cancel someone’s work in the 70s. For example, when people used to communicate via letters and mobile phones or the internet weren’t yet in the picture.

Nowadays information can spread from the east side to the west side of the globe in minutes, bullying has reached its peak, and social media has become kind of a jungle. This is how cancel culture has found its way to respond to the fast and uncontrolled development of the digital era.

How easy can someone get cancelled?

If present on social media or other online means, anyone can get cancelled, from celebrities to brands and regular people who are not in the spotlight. Behaviour that is considered merciless, intolerant, racist, sexist, or xenophobic can be called out any day and can lead to a movement of cancelling from those who decide that it should be. Who are those? Any user that is affected negatively by intolerant behaviour and decides to stop buying or supporting the “cancelled” person’s work. Nowadays, it is not easy, but extremely easy to get cancelled, especially for those with a strong presence online.

How many have experienced it until now?

Just to name a few, here are some popular personalities that have experienced a clash with the cancel culture:

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• Ellen DeGeneres. The well-known TV Host has been experiencing the cancel culture, when rumours have surfaced that she is treating her staff and guests very differently behind the cameras, in a negative way, of course (Frazer-Carroll, 2020).
  

• J.K. Rowling. The famous author has been “cancelled” because allegations of transphobic Twitter posts have surfaced.
  

• Pepsi and Kendall Jenner. A commercial that did not portray the “Black Lives Matter” in a favourable way was cancelled by the public, and Kendall Jenner, the face of the commercial was also included in the scandal.

Cancel culture has been an aggressive response to ugly things that happen on social media, but sometimes it forgets about the positive values that it is trying to promote, about kindness, forgiveness, and the presumption of innocence.