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This research is focused on the connections between actions discussed in cancel culture and people’s reactions towards what they view. The study looked at individuals, ages 18 and older, who have used social media for a minimum amount of 5 years as well as hold a general knowledge of what cancel culture is.
Of the 127 participants 77.2% (n=98) were female, 20.5% (n=26) were male, and 2.4% (n=3) were non-binary. 50.4% (n=64) of the participants were between the ages of 18 and 25, 12.6% (n=16) fell between the ages 26 and 32, 8.7% (n=11) were between the ages of 33 and 41, 6.3% (n=8) were between the ages of 42 and 49, then 22.05% (n=28) were over the age of 50. These results conclude that participants were of diverse generations.
People Are more likely to express their opinions on discussions within cancel culture.
People Are more likely to express their opinions on discussions within cancel culture.
When reacting to certain topics within cancel culture, over half of the participants, 61.42% (n=78), would like the posts that they agreed with the most, while the next majority of participants, 35.43% (n=45), would not agree with the content they came across. Others would react differently by commenting, sharing, reposting, or creating a new post entirely. The only people that did agree with the given statements and their first response was to do more than a like were participants that were between the ages of 33 and 41 as well as participants over the age of 50. This research suggests that participants aren’t as engaged with content within cancel culture as past research suggests. However, a majority of participants, 90.54% (n=115) of people, agreed that their opinions were at least somewhat valid when it comes to discussions with cancel culture.
82.68% (n=105) of people strongly agreed that people should do further research on news stories they see online. Of these participants 42.52% (n=54) were between the ages of 18 and 25 after cross tabbing. This can be shown in Figure 1. The participants in this survey suggest that those whose ages are between 18 and 25, in the younger generations, have more of an understanding that not everything seen online should be taken seriously.
Figure 1:
Participant answers varied when suggesting whether their social media feeds are diverse in the information it is providing to them. The majority of people, 28.35% (n=36), had a neutral response. This percentage was heavily impacted by those whose ages ranged from 18 to 25, with 14.17% (n=18) of them in that category. This age group also had the largest number of people who agreed with this statement. This can be shown in Figure 2. Arugete and Calvo (2018) explain that the more varied a social media feed is, the more someone will be able to debate and know what is going on in the world around them.
Figure 2:
People have stronger opinions when discussions have a high media coverage.
People have stronger opinions when discussions have a high media coverage.
The findings showed that most people were neutral when it came to their feelings regarding whether cancel culture affected the way they viewed certain topics. However, when it came to social movements, 75.86% (n=88) people were the most passionate on the topic. Social movements were an outcome of cancel culture that had wider media coverage, therefore they were more likely to to get people’s attention, making them form more opinions on the subject. This reflects Bouvier & Machin’s (2021) perspective that when popular movements involve hashtags, they gain more attention, providing people the opportunity to learn more about the topics.
In regards to people’s reasoning for calling others out, participants were asked whether they thought calling people out on social media represented accountability or unjust punishment. 35.43% (n=45) said it represented neither, however, 25.20% (n=32) of people chose accountability and 25.20%(n=32) of people chose both. Over half of the participants didn’t feel as though holding someone accountable for past actions should qualify them for a cancellation. This research suggests that participants mostly felt that the acts of canceling are to hold people accountable for their actions, but sometimes just the act of acknowledging people’s behaviors are just as effective. 70.08% (n=89) felt as though people rush to judge people before knowing the truth. This can be shown in Figure 3.
Figure 3:
As for celebrity content within cancel culture, 43.31% (n=55) of people were neutral to the fact that they will view a canceled celebrity’s work after they have been canceled by the media. This can be shown in Figure 4. When it comes to celebrities, people tend to have mixed feelings about their actions depending on what they have done and who they are. Kannen (2020) pointed out that celebrities are hesitant to speak out on certain topics these days because they never know how people will respond.
Figure 4:
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