The great paradox of all cringeworthy things is that the more that we hate them, the harder it is to stop looking. The spectacle that comes with the public embarrassment of others seems to flick some kind of switch in our heads that means we can’t help but turn around and look. In this hopelessly attention devoted economy, those who make the biggest scenes are what we keep coming back to. 

It’s an endless cycle, because there are no shortage of people out there who are willing to humiliate themselves in a way that makes the rest of us feel icky inside. Nonetheless, that flicked switch keeps us coming back to it, if only to remind ourselves that we hate all these stupid things a lot. The cringe is going to keep on flowing so long as we let it, and we’re showing no signs of trying to slow it down.