Definition

Cancel Culture and social media Cancel culture is a term that only gained popularity in recent years. Cancelling concept has been around for a while.What is the term used when one seeks to understand another culture from that other culture’s perspective? Now while shunning those who have done something socially inappropriate is nothing new, the age of the internet has made it even more prevalent. Due to the fact that theoretically the entire world can find out this information about you and shun you. Especially if you happen to be a very public figure on social media.

History of cancel culture

Initially, cancel culture was first known as “call-out culture”, a term with more positive connotations that came into widespread use with the emergence of the #MeToo movement. It encourages women and men to call out their abusers on a public forum where their accusations could be heard. This brings powerful individuals to justice who normally escape a lot of scrutiny.Some of the people called out and a lot of them ended up losing their jobs due to these allegations were CEOs and Managers.

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Societal impact

Members of the public express their distaste for the individuals’ actions. Threatening to boycott whatever institution they worked for unless actions are taken. Social media helped boost the voices of marginalized people in this case.

Downsides of cancel culture

It has many critics despite helping marginalized and less powerful people get justice. Some of these critics include former US presidents Donald J. Trump and Barack H. Obama and Pope Francis. Trump compares cancel culture to totalitarianism. Says that it is a political weapon used to punish dissenters. Obama warned against it saying that people who do good things have flaws. Pope Francis believes that it is a form of ideological colonization that leaves no room for freedom of expression.

Many have wondered whether anything can truly be fair in the court of public opinion. False allegations is used to unfairly kick someone out of their position by manipulating public opinion. This coupled with the prevalence of misinformation on social media seems to be a valid concern.We live in unprecedented times where people all around the world have access to each other at the push of a button. Public opinion is easily swayed. Seems like cancel culture is here to stay with us, whether it is a net positive or negative for society.