40 People Call Out Highly Cringeworthy Things That Have Snuck Into Everyday Life

Trends are simply popular patterns of behavior. We might think we’re good at resisting them, but most of us feel at least some pressure to conform to social norms. To put it simply, human beings are social creatures. We’re hardwired to cooperate with others, and we place an enormous amount of value on reputation, acceptance, and admiration. We want to feel like we belong!

So, when more and more people around us begin behaving a certain way, we feel an urge to follow suit. This can be related to anything, whether that’s becoming a streamer, starting a podcast, trying to be a social media star, creating memes, etc. Some people are more susceptible to this pressure. Others have a firm understanding of their own values, so they feel more comfortable pushing back against social pressure.

In this day and age, it’s not just our family, friends, coworkers, and neighbors who impact our decisions. If you’re reading this, you have access to the internet and are probably pretty active on social media.

This means that your opinion on everything and anything—food, fashion, celebs, entertainment, etc.—can be shaped by a wide range of people you might not even have met in person.

Influencers, thus, have a lot of power. They can inspire and motivate others to live healthier, happier, and more purposeful lives. Or they can have a thoroughly negative impact on their audience’s physical and mental health by, for example, making them dissatisfied with their bodies. Spending less time on social media and having a strong social network to support you can help you resist the pull of all those new trendy diets and other behaviors that continue to pop up.

What current trends do you personally dislike the most, dear Pandas? Are there any that you actually enjoy? If you have a moment, let us know in the comments.