My honest opinion as to why we are so attracted to the awfulness of cringe content is that we relate to it. Yes, even the examples of terrible people saying and doing wildly offensive things that we would never even dream of. The fact of the matter is, we've all had those moments that end up coming back to haunt us years later on a night where we can't sleep. Mistakes and wrongheaded attitudes are something that all of us suffer from time to time.
It means that when we see somebody else committing to them, we can't help but feel a twinge of recognition — even where we really don't want to. Embarrassment is an inevitable part of life, but that doesn't mean that these cringey individuals had to go as far as they actually did. That's not like it stopped anybody, though. If nothing else, they serve as a reminder that it could be worse.
