fullscreen

eFinder

eFinder

Home › Psychology of Embarrassment › Article

Binging on cringe: It's as addictive as 'eating junk food'

Deutsche Welle · 🇩🇪 public Germany · · 804 words · By Yousra Drioua
Psychology of Embarrassment Social Norms and Exclusion Digital Consumption Habits
headphones Listen to the eFinder podcast briefing
Generate a natural audio summary of this story
Daily briefing

What to know about Psychology of Embarrassment

Binging on cringe: It's as addictive as 'eating junk food' August 3, 2026 I feel it.

Claims checked 8
Techniques found 1
Topics 3

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage
Left0%
Center50%
Right50%

2 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Binging on cringe: It's as addictive as 'eating junk food' August 3, 2026 I feel it.

Why it matters

Someone posts a crying selfie, proposes at a wedding, or confidently sings off-key at karaoke and we cringe.

Common ground

We cringe when we see something so awkward, embarrassing, or painfully lacking in self-awareness that it makes us recoil.

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.dw.com/en/binging-on-cringe-its-as-addictive-as-eating-junk-food/a-7…

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 1 propaganda technique in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

warning
Loaded Language 70% confidence
Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.
Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.
Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 8 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 4
info Single Source 3
verified Verified 1
info
Claim 1: “In Hofmann's clinical work, he has tested so-called "social mishap exposures" in which patients embarrass themselves in an intentional and engineered way”
SINGLE SOURCE
The provided evidence for this claim consists of general Wikipedia entries about the name 'Stefan'. There is no specific evidence in the provided results confirming the 'social mishap exposures' clinical work, although the person Stefan Hofmann was mentioned in other claims.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Stefan is a masculine given name, a form of the English name Stephen. Variants include Ștefan, Štefan and Stefán.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stefan_(given_name)
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Look up Stefan in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Stefan. If an internal link incorrectly led you here, you may wish to change the li…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stefan
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — May 26, 2026 · Form of Stephen used in several languages. Famous bearers include the Serbian rulers Stefan Nemanja, Stefan Nemanjić, and Stefan Lazarević, who are all considered saints in the Orthodox…
https://www.behindthename.com/name/stefan
verified
Claim 2: “Frieder Paulus, a psychologist and neuroscientist at the University of Lübeck, Germany”
VERIFIED
Official university pages from the University of Lübeck confirm Frieder Paulus is a professor focusing on neuro-computational processes and social neuroscience, confirming his role as a psychologist/neuroscientist at that institution.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Johannes Hill (born 1988) is a German baritone in concert and in oratorios, who has performed internationally. Singing in choirs from age 10, he has performed major roles in oratorios, such as both Je…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johannes_Hill
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Ratzeburger Allee 160. 23538 Lübeck. Germany. h-index.Professor Paulus focuses on neuro-computational processes underlying social interactions in non-clinical and clinical populations with an addition…
https://research.uni-luebeck.de/en/persons/frieder-paulus/
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Welcome to the official homepage of the Social Neuroscience Lab at the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy at Lübeck University.Our team is located at the Center of Brain, Behavior and Metaboli…
https://social-neuroscience-lab.com/?id=1
+ 1 more evidence source
check_circle
Claim 3: “Embarrassment belongs to a class of emotions psychologists call 'self-conscious emotions,' alongside shame, pride, and guilt”
CORROBORATED
While the Wikipedia entry for embarrassment provides general context, the specific grouping of embarrassment, shame, pride, and guilt as 'emotional barometers' (a subset of self-conscious emotions) is explicitly mentioned in the 'Binging on Cringe' source.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Embarrassment or awkwardness is an emotional state that is associated with mild to severe levels of discomfort, and which is usually experienced when someone commits (or thinks of) a socially unaccept…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Embarrassment
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — 3 days ago · The meaning of EMBARRASSMENT is something that embarrasses. How to use embarrassment in a sentence.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/embarrassment
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Nov 6, 2025 · Embarrassment is an emotional response to an innocent mistake. Many are embarrassment-prone because they've set unrealistically high standards for themselves that they can't meet.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/embarrassment
check_circle
Claim 4: “cringe is also known in psychology as secondhand or vicarious embarrassment”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent sources, including Wikipedia and psychological analysis articles, confirm that 'cringe' (specifically the feeling of embarrassment for others) is known as vicarious or secondhand embarrassment.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — embarrassed person. The word “cringey” evokes feelings of embarrassment or awkwardness, but there is a similar term that goes by another name, one with a bit more psychological clout: vicarious embarr…
https://www.popsci.com/story/science/cringe-embarrassment-sc…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — What we call second-hand embarrassment is properly termed vicarious embarrassment, although it is also variously known as third-party embarrassment, empathic embarrassment, fremdscham (German for “ext…
https://www.mentalfloss.com/science/psychology/why-do-we-get…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Unlike general embarrassment, vicarious embarrassment is not the feelings of embarrassment for oneself or for one's own actions, but instead by feeling embarrassment for somebody else after witnessing…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vicarious_embarrassment
check_circle
Claim 5: “The emotion [cringe], researchers suggest, is involuntary and develops from an early age”
CORROBORATED
The 'Binging on Cringe' article explicitly states that researchers suggest the emotion is involuntary and develops from an early age. Additionally, a PopSCI blog mentions the cringe reaction as an 'involuntary recoil' and a 'built-in survival mechanism'.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Embarrassment belongs to a class of emotions called emotional barometers. Emotional barometers include shame, pride, and guilt.But cringe isn't something we can simply stop feeling. The emotion, resea…
https://www.latestly.com/technology/science/binging-on-cring…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Journal of Research in Childhood Education, 3 Feb. 2017. Web. 16 Sept.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02568543.2016.1…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Research suggests a strong possibility. The cringe reaction we experience isn't just a matter of annoyance; it's a built-in survival mechanism. This involuntary recoil, often accompanied by facial exp…
https://popsci.blog/why-chalkboard-sound-make-you-cringe
info
Claim 6: “Matthew Feinberg, a social psychologist at the University of Toronto in Canada, has found that people understand displays of embarrassment as a signal of prosocial behavior”
SINGLE SOURCE
The search results for 'Matthew Feinberg' returned irrelevant information about the biblical Apostle Matthew and the Gospel of Matthew, providing no evidence regarding a social psychologist at the University of Toronto.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — According to many Christian traditions, he was also one of the four Evangelists as author of the Gospel of Matthew, and thus is also known as Matthew the Evangelist. The New Testament records that as …
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_the_Apostle
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Matthew has 600 verses in common with Mark, which is a book of only 661 verses. There are approximately 220 verses shared by Matthew and Luke but not found in Mark.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gospel_of_Matthew
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — 1 This is the genealogy[a] of Jesus the Messiah[b] the son of David, the son of Abraham: 2 Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, 3 Jud…
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=matthew+1&versi…
check_circle
Claim 7: “Stefan Hofmann, a clinical psychologist specializing in social anxiety disorder at Marburg University, Germany, says cringe videos are as addictive as junk food”
CORROBORATED
Two independent web sources (one in English, one in Indonesian) explicitly quote Stefan Hofmann from Marburg University comparing the addictiveness of cringe videos to junk food.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Stefan Hofmann, a clinical psychologist specializing in social anxiety disorder at Marburg University, Germany, says cringe videos are as addictive as junk food: "If you eat junk food, you want more o…
https://www.latestly.com/technology/science/binging-on-cring…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Stefan Hofmann, seorang psikolog klinis dengan spesialisasi gangguan kecemasan sosial di Universitas Marburg, Jerman , mengatakan video cringe sama candunya dengan makanan cepat saji.
https://www.dw.com/id/kenapa-konten-cringe-bikin-ketagihan-b…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for fair use for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use …
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2JqmPWGA0s
info
Claim 8: “Our reactions to embarrassing situations are visible on a brain scan”
SINGLE SOURCE
The provided evidence contains general information about brain anatomy and neuroscience from Wikipedia and Johns Hopkins, but does not provide a specific study or confirmation that reactions to 'embarrassing situations' specifically are visible on a brain scan.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The brain is an organ that serves as the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals. It consists of nervous tissue and is typically located in the head (cephalization…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brain
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The brain can also be the site of tumours, both benign and malignant; these mostly originate from other sites in the body. The study of the anatomy of the brain is neuroanatomy, while the study of its…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_brain
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The brain is a complex organ that controls thought, memory, emotion, touch, motor skills, vision, breathing, temperature, hunger and every process that regulates our body.
https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseas…
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.