By: Sonia Kinyua
Cancel Culture: a movement to remove celebrity status or esteem from a person, place, or thing based on offensive behavior or transgression. In today’s digital age, we see a trend of the social media atmosphere canceling individuals on controversies in their online presence. However, in the midst of these call-outs, the question lingers: Does cancel culture genuinely bring about accountability, or is it just a vehicle for online outrage?
Cancel culture, in essence, is the public condemnation of social media influencers or celebrities for alleged wrongdoings. Whether it is a problematic post or a controversial statement, we, as a digital society, create a virtual jury to deliver a verdict on whether or not this person’s actions are redeemable. But does this online outrage bring about real-world change?
It doesn’t.
Canceled influencers and celebrities tend not to face the long-term consequences of being canceled. It’s an online construct. Sure, we can look at certain cases of influencers or celebrities being disadvantaged from being canceled, but we have to ask ourselves if it fostered any change in the end. As a virtual society, we cancel people for a short period, then forget about it and continue to consume content. We can even argue that the influencers apologized for the actions that they did, but did they genuinely apologize and take accountability or apologize because they got caught? Maybe it’s a mix of both. Perhaps it’s a strategy posed by their manager to allow them to maintain success. Whatever the agreement may be, there is no sure way to know if someone has taken accountability for their actions or simply apologized to maintain a reputation.
On the flip side, we also must consider how cancel culture can damage an innocent person’s life and reputation. People are willing to do anything for their 5 seconds of fame. The minute an allegation comes about a celebrity, people can come forward and make statements just to gain a following. Or, people will dig into a celebrity and bring up something controversial. Some are willing to even falsely accuse celebrities and influencers for money and fame. Accusations may not do much, but with the idea of cancel culture in mind, an influencer may be canceled by society just by one accusation of wrongdoing. People take to the internet and do their worst. In seconds, a reputation can be shattered. By doing this, it’s almost as if we take away self-expression from these celebrities. We idolize them so much that we forget they are people. They are untouchable so they aren’t humane. They can’t have feelings or mistakes. It’s not an excuse for some actions that are done. But our dirty secrets and mistakes can live in the shadows; theirs cannot.
So what does cancel culture do for us? Does it empower us with a sense of justice as a digital society? Does it hinder the self-expression of elites in fear of a destroyed reputation? So far, it’s hard to see a sort of benefit to it at all. This phenomenon is unfortunately not a black-and-white issue. It is not something that can be utilized uniformly. However, as we navigate this conundrum of cancel culture, we must create a balance in holding individuals accountable and fostering an environment encouraging free speech, education, and growth.
