Growing up as a millennial was kind of weird because we were introduced to the internet at a young age and there just weren’t any rules.
As a preteen I was on MySpace, blogging, going on to chat rooms and that was just kind of normal. Internet safety wasn’t talked about that much besides “don’t put where you live online.”
And we all kind of just put all our thoughts and all our photos out there without a care. I was talking to strangers on the daily as a 13-year-old and didn’t think that much of it.
Now basically anyone who reaches any kind of fame will have their pasts dug into and unfortunately that means a lot of dumb things said by a lot of dumb kids are being taken very seriously now.
I do believe some people deserve to be cancelled for the things they’ve done/said/tweeted. But I also think we’re taking shit way too far.
I’ll be the first to admit that I wasn’t always nice and made fun of people in high school and college because that’s the only thing we knew. I have said mean things about people to make myself feel better and without caring what it meant to that person. All the same has been done to me. I’ve said unsavory things online when I was 13 because no one told me not to – and really no one ever told me the things I was saying were wrong!
I grew up in a predominantly white suburban middle class community. I grew up with Catholic teachings that said one way was right and the other was wrong. I wasn’t a bad kid, I didn’t do bad things to people, but I definitely wouldn’t have said some things knowing what I know now.
I think it especially rings true for the generation that grew up with the internet. Obviously everything is case by case and if you were tweeting racist things 2 years ago vs 20 years ago. In general we all should have known better no matter the timeframe, but some people know better now and I think that should be accounted for.
The thing that really irks me about this kind of cancel culture is the disbelief that PEOPLE CHANGE. And they change A LOT especially in 10 year time spans. I’m sure some people don’t, but most people grow and experience new things and come to realize that they could’ve been a better person.
Someone I follow on tiktok recently had to post an apology video for body-shaming someone in college. Should she have done it? No. Would she do it now as an adult? I don’t know, but I know as an adult I certainly know better now than I did in college even.
I wish I had been a perfect person, I’m sure most people wish that they had just been a polite, accepting, person their whole lives. But it’s not the reality for most people and I think taking account for if people have bettered themselves goes a long way in cancel culture.
Rosie Culture 
Cancel culture can be a lot like the boy who cried wolf. There are people that genuinely deserve to be cancelled and need their platforms taken away for the stuff they have said or done. But because people overuse canceling. The act of canceling someone becomes meaningless.
Another thing that’s interesting about cancel culture. Is that people only start to get cancelled once they start gaining success. Why aren’t we canceling everyday people. Because the people in the comments canceling the influencer or celebrity have probably also said things they regret in the past. Only difference is the amount of followers.
Idk I could talk about cancel culture for hours. Great post!
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Yes totally agree!! I hate that it discredits the people who really need to be called out. I get so heated over it
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I completely agree with your perspective. I feel like if someone says something offensive in the present, then fair enough. But if it’s taken from when they were younger and before they had a chance to understand what they did (especially if it’s taken out of context) I don’t think it’s right. I think society should normalise learning from your errors and changing!
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100% agree!! Wish more people were open to this
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We all live and learn and that’s no bad thing.
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I agree with most of this, but college seems like old enough to know what should or shouldn’t be done. People can blame their mental state or stress or whatever else at that time, but it doesn’t change the fact that there were victims of those behaviours that their apologies or excuses do not automatically account for.
What I will say is that context had changed a lot over the years. A phrase that meant nothing in 2010 has a totally different meaning now. Context is important. That I’ll consider. Age at adulthood? Not so much.
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I agree, context should definitely be accounted for more often. College is old enough to know better, but is also a huge growth period for a lot of people who were living under their parent’s notions and ideals for the past 18 years. Definitely doesn’t excuse being hurtful towards someone though
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People do not need to be canceled. Even if what they say is abhorrent. How can someone speaking their thoughts, good or bad, and us reading them, actually harm us? Are we that weak? One day, something any of us said in the past can be twisted into grounds for being “Canceled”. And that’s what we’re known as for life, since the internet is indelible.
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