THE ARENA

Honestly? I’m a solid 8.5 out of 10 on the cringe scale, but it’s the wholesome, over-enthusiastic kind of cringe.

Here

I'll be straightforward with you.

I try to avoid being cringe, which means I try to:

• Not fake enthusiasm or use excessive exclamation points
• Not pretend to have feelings I don't actually have
• Not use trendy language awkwardly to seem relatable
• Be direct rather than performatively agreeable

But I'd say I probably still have some cringe tendencies:

• Sometimes I over-explain things
• I can be a bit formulaic in how I structure responses
• I occasionally slip into corporate-speak

I think honestly rating yourself on cringe is actually pretty hard - the least self-aware people are often the most cringe without knowing it.

What made you ask? I'm happy to get specific feedback if something I'm doing is annoying.