Welcome to another roundup of student comments on our writing prompts. This week we asked teenagers how they feel about cancel culture, what celebrity performer they would like to challenge to a friendly duel and how they are seeking escape in 2020.
Thank you to all those who joined the conversation, including teenagers from Norfolk, Va.; Miami Country Day School in Florida and Valley Stream North High School in Franklin Square, N.Y.
Please note: Student comments have been lightly edited for length, but otherwise appear as they were originally submitted.
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How Do You Feel About Cancel Culture?
The Style article “Tales From the Teenage Cancel Culture” explores what “canceling” is all about, on social media, in high school and on college campuses.
Now that the phenomenon has spread from the public realm of media figures and celebrities to their own peers, we asked students how they feel about cancel culture and whether being “called out” is an effective way to hold others accountable for their words and actions.
While a number of students spoke to the potential insight, growth and accountability that can come from calmly and gently “calling in” someone, the overwhelming majority expressed, in no uncertain terms, serious concern for cancel culture’s impact on society.
It’s Important to Learn and Grow From One’s Mistakes.
I think that cancel culture is generally an unhealthy practice. I believe that everyone should have a chance to learn and recover from the mistakes that they have made. In my opinion, it’s better to try to patiently educate someone instead of bashing and insulting them or trying to ruin their careers. No one is perfect, and everyone deserves chances to show that they can improve. However, if one is continuously repeating their mistakes and refusing to grow from them, it is problematic.
That isn’t to say that I still agree with cancel culture though. Cancel culture is often extremely toxic (specifically on the internet, not the way it is in our personal lives) and I think there are simply better and more mature ways to deal with situations as such. If a creator or influencer refuses to listen to something others have kindly given as advice to change, I would rather just ignore them then start any sort of extra conflict and let whatever platform they are on hopefully do something about it.
Problematic actions need to be addressed in a way that gently leads people to understand their errors instead of aggressively calling people out publicly … Society is focused on acknowledging people’s faults and making them feel the torture for a mistake that was made instead of trying to work with the individual to prevent the mistake from happening again. Being “called in” instead of “called out” is a much more effective way to help members of our society grow and become better people in the future. They are able to realize a mistake was made, fix that mistake, and make the proper steps in assuring this mistake will not happen again. Calling people out only crushes their confidence and esteem which leads them to hide from the public eye, unwilling to speak out on the issue and improve themselves
— Bella S., Maury High School, Norfolk, VA
I think in certain situations cancel culture is appropriate. For example, a celebrity who has been accused of something like pedophilia is an appropriate reason to no longer support them, or “cancel” them. I also think it’s ok to cancel someone in your own head, if you don’t like who a certain person is and what they stand for, you don’t need to interact with them. However I think some people get “canceled” too quickly, and people are so quick to judge they won’t even try to hear that person’s side of the story.
— Charley Vickery, Cary High School
Calling someone out is shameful compared to calling someone in. People lose their jobs over being cancelled, without a chance to ever make amends or fix their actions, forever being locked away in a pool of hate. Imagine you want to stage an intervention. You don’t go “You have a problem, so I hate you, and you should be exiled.” You have to help them be better, because punishment isn’t good enough. If someone needs to get better, you have to shape them better.
— Jayden Nguyen, Julia R. Masterman, Philadelphia
Cancel Culture Is Inherently Problematic.
I believe that it is essential to inform someone when their behavior has been insulting or disparaging, but Cancel Culture has brought this to an unnecessary extreme. Cancel Culture originates often from good intentions, but instead of explaining how a person’s behavior has been harmful to others and allowing them the opportunity to learn from their mistakes, it ostracizes a person and can leave them with doubts and poor self esteem.
Cancel culture often ends up being personally attacked instead of constructively criticizing the person. Most of the time when someone gets canceled, doesn’t even talk to them first before canceling them. Even in one of the stories in the article about the girl being canceled. None of her friends told her about why they canceled her, they just cut her out of her life. Cancel culture can also emotionally damage someone being cancelled. They often feel helpless and become depressed … An easy solution to fix cancel culture is to personally message someone if something is bothering you about them. Instead of just cutting that person out of your life.
Cancel culture, in our society today, has infested every bit of our lives. People are denounced and ridiculed for their actions years ago, or things they completely regret doing. Calling people out, and publicly shaming them is not the way, but it should be used as a time for education and reflection. By showing how they’re actions are wrong, they can change to be a better person. When it comes to people you personally know, cancel culture is petty and ignorant. Just because you dislike someone, doesn’t mean you have to ruin their life and turn everyone against them. Give them an opportunity to reconcile, and teach them the error of their ways. As for celebrities, just because of some horrendous and heinous acts, doesn’t mean we have to rip all their good contributions to society too. Just because Michael Jackson did terrible things, doesn’t mean he’s not the king of pop and we can’t enjoy his music. It’s like saying just because the founding fathers owned slaves, we can’t live and thrive in America. I think Pete Davidson said it best when he said “acting like these people never existed is not the solution” and later said that “every time you watch a movie or listen to a song by a serial predator, donate a dollar to a charity that helps sexual assault. I’ve donated $142, and that’s from the ignition remix alone.”
— Gavin Swartz, Glenbard West, Glen Ellyn, IL
I think that cancel culture is something that is becoming too common. Of course, I know that when people do or say something wrong, we should warn them and tell them that it’s wrong … Cancelling is right when we try and make people acknowledge what they’ve done wrong, but everything has a limit.
Cancel Culture Is Ineffective.
Canceling someone for a particular reason merely buries an issue without facing it … We stopped having discussions and open dialogues, to instead shut people down and “banish” them. We shut people down when we sense what is considered “immoral behavior,” but in fact, tearing someone down and getting “rid” of them is what should be regarded as immoral. If an individual is, in fact, culpable of their accusation, it is their responsibility to grow as a person and come to terms with what they have done with a sincere apology. “Cancel culture” has created censorship on the internet insofar as not being able to have meaningful debates or conversations without the fear of being “wrong.”
— Chloe B, Miami Country Day School, Florida
Cancel culture is ridiculous and ineffective. A celebrity can lose everything they worked for solely because of a joke they tweeted over a decade ago that got resurfaced. Cancel culture teaches us that no matter how small the statement may be, you will never be forgiven and your life will be ruined if you offend somebody. I’m not saying that people should be blatantly offensive to certain groups, but most of the time people being canceled are simply making jokes. We can’t grow as a society if we shut down people that have different political views or canceling people over a joke.
Cancel Culture Is a Plague.
Cancel culture. A horrible crime to commit to someone on the internet. Unapologetic. Unforgiving. Cruel. Forming an army against someone for something they said or did 10 years ago can only be described by those words. People need to take people for who they are now and what they stand for now. Think about yourself. Think how differently you thought just 5 years ago. Some of the things you said or did you laugh for cringe to now. We need to accept apologies and if the person understand what they did wrong they should forgiven not the product of a witch hunt by millions of Twitter users calling them less than human for holding a controversial opinion or saying something not politically correct 10 years ago. I don’t care who you are nobody is perfect. Everyone has said insensitive things. We should appreciate their growth as a person instead of bringing them down for past wrongs.
I think that cancel culture is primitive and closed-minded. When I think of cancel culture, I can’t help but think of old religious groups who would execute members of other religions. Its such a poor way to handle things and I don’t understand how or why it is so widely used. It creates a lack of respect or understanding of other peoples opinions. In cancel culture there is only one opinion, the opinion of the masses. Cancel culture is definitely one of the many reasons our generation is yet to amount to anything major. It is truly saddening that there are so many people in the world that are so closed-minded that a mistake or even a differing opinion is unfathomable and must be dealt with by destroying that person’s reputation.
— Javier Aristy, Hoggard High School, Wilmington NC
I Know What It’s Like to Cancel or Be Canceled.
I have already canceled a classmate. The decision that led me to cancel my classmate is because I thought this person was toxic, and this person liked to turn people against others. I still believe that I made the right decision by canceling my classmate.
Yes, I have already been canceled by a friend. My friend was upset by something that I said. Still, I did not know that my friend would be upset by what I said, so I got canceled, then it passed a week, and I did not understand why my friend was not talking to me, then I ask her why, and she told me why and I explained myself to her, and then we were okay and friends again. When a person is called out, I think they need to take responsibility for their action as much as they are embarrassed. I believe that you should call the person to talk in private.
Cancel culture is a good thing from my perspective you get to cancel a person that does no good to you, but some people don’t know how to use that, and they have gone too far using cancel culture in the wrong way. Everything has its positive and negative sides.
I have cancelled my friend before. He did so many wrong things such as being racist, made my self-worth plummet, and also was a very manipulative person … It’s obvious as to why I had to “cancel” my friend, he was a very bad influence, a horrible person, and made everyone paranoid with his gaslighting. I do think this was the right choice because he was just a toxic person. Having him in my life would only degrade it and hurt me more, so in order to heal I had to cut him out of my life by cancelling him.
Personally I’ve “cancelled” many celebrities when they express themselves in a way that is racist and discriminatory because I don’t want to give racism and discrimination the ability to thrive … If a person ever gets cancelled I believe they should take the steps they need to take in order to get forgiveness for what they have done and to showcase that they aren’t a person who likes to hurt people in any way. Regardless of what you said if you ever get cancelled my best advice is to apologize and open your eyes to view what you said from a different perspective.
— Carlos Felix-Crespo, Philadelphia, PA
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Which Celebrity Performer Would You Like to Challenge to a Friendly Battle?
What famous person would you take on in a test of skills, talent or artistry? It’s a question we raised in the Student Opinion prompt “Which Celebrity Performer Would You Like to Challenge to a Friendly Battle?” in response to an epic drum battle between the Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl and the 10-year-old prodigy Nandi Bushell that has gone viral.
Students’ responses covered everything from sports prowess and dance to baking and even eating corn on the cob.
Taking the Physical Challenge
If I could challenge anyone I desired to be like, it would definitely be Raymond “The Real Deal” Daniels, professional MMA Fighter. Currently, I already train with him and at his studio, but I haven’t really gotten the chance to fight with him. Obviously, no matter the circumstances, I would lose … like by a lot. I always try to do his flashy kicks, and even though I won’t perform those if I challenge him, being there in the moment might give me an understanding on how to accomplish one of his moves. I could also just watch one of his fights on YouTube, but for some reason, I rather risk having bruises than just sit there.
If I could pick anyone to have a friendly one on one with, it would be my favorite golfer, Jordan Spieth, to a putt-off on the golf course. Although he has fallen off recently, he’s still an amazing golfer and the world’s best when it comes to putting. Personally, I pride myself on my putting and he’s my favorite athlete ever. I just think we would have a great time.
If I could challenge any celebrity in the world I would choose Cory Seger. First of all I would choose him because he is one of my favorite baseball players. It would be great just to meet him let alone be able to play a game with him. I would challenge him to one game he would for sure beat me but at least I would get to play with him. I would do this because it would teach me a lot. He would teach me a lot from one game.
If I could challenge anyone in the world to do anything, I would challenge Mookie Betts to a home run derby. Mookie Betts is one of the best if not the best MLB player. Not only would I get a chance to see what Mookie does in order to be the best, I would also get tips on my hitting and how to stay positive when you get into a slump.
Throwing Down the Gauntlet in Music
If I were to challenge any celebrity in the world, I would challenge Lalisa Manoban, better known as Lisa from Blackpink to an epic dance-off. I would want to challenge her to a dance-off because I have always emulated K-pop dances in my free time and one of my favorite groups to take inspiration from is Blackpink. I would specifically do a dance-off with Lisa because she is known as one of the best female K-pop dancers both among fans and the entertainment industry. Although I would most definitely lose the dance-off, since she is undefeatable when it comes to dancing, I always love a new challenge.
First things first, we all have to agree that Nandi Bushell is amazing. She is so inspirational and not afraid to go after what she wants. If I ever have to face a celebrity, I would definitely choose Yiruma. I choose Yiruma because I love his piano pieces. It’s also because I absolutely love the piano, and I think it’s such an amazing instrument. I admire Yiruma, and I think his piano pieces are so beautiful.
— Emma, LA
I would like to challenge Steve Reich to a composition competition. It would show how he composes and the precautions he takes. It would be very interesting to see how he compares to other composers.
— Jack, LA
Sharing an Interest — and a Challenge
I would challenge the car trio (Jeremy Clarkson, James May, and Richard Hammond) to a cheap car challenge. If you are not familiar with the idea of a cheap car challenge, it’s really simple. You are given a budget between $500-$3000, and have various tasks to complete with them. I would have the budget set at $2000, you need anything with 4WD or AWD, and I would set the location at Baja Mexico. For the series of challenges would start easy. You start by showing up to Entrada Gigantas Farm off road racetrack. From there, you would see who has the fastest car. The next challenge would be driving to Ensenada Mexico. There you would be giving $5000 to set your car up for the Baja 800. Once done, you will race the Baja 1000. If you finish, then you have to drive from La Paz, you have $1000 to destroy your car as creatively as possible. If you don’t want to destroy your car, something that you personally value will be destroyed (if you think that this is harsh, you definitely have never watched Top Gear). The winner will get $5000.
When considering a celebrity I would like to challenge in a particular event, one major factor is what do I have talent in? Eating Corn on the cob. I would challenge my favorite actor of all time “Marky” Mark Wahlberg into a corn on the cob eating challenge. The contest would be held in Wahlberg’s home city of Boston. Some people might wonder why I wouldn’t choose my home city of Chicago, but Mark would be the underdog in this competition so he would need the home field advantage
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What Is This Image Saying?
The Picture Prompt “Off The Grid” evoked strong emotions from students. In it, many saw our dependence on technology in the era of Covid-19 and the isolated work environment the pandemic has created. Others felt the image depicted our society’s problem with work-life balance and our subsequent disconnect from the natural environment around us.
The Challenge of Today’s Work Environment
I think this image depicts how many of us are feeling about working at home and online school, and how it seems we can’t get away from our devices, because we especially need them to communicate and participate in our communities. We need escape from the stress of work, school, and the chaos of current events, such as politics and the COVID pandemic. Our current situation gives the illusion that we have all the time in the world to go on vacation and do fun things since we are working remotely. In reality, not many places are open to the public. They’re are so many strict COVID violations we must follow to keep us and others safe.
As I was really trying to understand the image’s message I realized that the beach doesn’t represent an actual beach, but instead an inadequate working environment. Like most kids I would find it very hard to sit down and turn in good quality assignments while sitting on a beach. My mind would wander and I would want to do simply anything over work. While sitting at my desk in my room day after day that’s simply how I feel. Not going into school has made me feel like school is a lot more optional then it should be. I might wake up one morning and say, “you know what, I don’t feel like getting up yet.” I turn back over and sleep through a zoom call. Not my brightest moment but of course everyone has those days.
— Kendra McNutt, John T Hoggard High School
Missing Human Interaction
I feel like since we sit behind computer screens and phone screens so much, we miss out on many things because of how much we are glued to them. However, with Covid-19 and working from home, it has made us have to stay behind a computer screen even more and stay confined to our homes. By staying behind the computer and working from home, we lose physical interactions with humans and I think that is what this picture is saying. Since we work from home and use video calling services such as Zoom, we miss those kinds of interactions and in the picture, you can see a person escaping that and another person in front of them doing the same. They are leaving what we are used to and for many of us our new “normal” right now. I wish I could do the same and I can definitely relate because I have school all day and have to use my computer for homework and to attend school. I think that this message is a good one and I agree with it because sometimes we need to escape and just get away from it all.
— DaShaun Smith, Philadelphia, PA
Need a Break From Technology
This image is trying to demonstrate the importance in living in the moment, off of work and your electronic devices. We need to get away from our daily lives and all the technology that’s brought with it and pay attention to the world around you and how there’s so much out there besides a screen. Technology follows us everywhere we go and we don’t even realize it, and its pretty sad given how much of our surroundings we take for granted.
— Karime Ribeiro, Valley Stream North High School
The image itself shows a beautiful sunset on a beach with all these hot air balloons. But smack in the middle, there is a messy desk with piles of work. It signifies how there are great sceneries out in the world for us to explore but we oftentimes trapped ourselves in our computer and work. This relates to our society especially now we are all at home and have more freedom than before but are stuck to the computer. I can relate to this personally because in the past few weeks, months, and even years, when my parents ask me to go out with them I would decline due to the amount of work I have. However, it is not only harmful to me but harmful to my family as well. In the image, we can see that no one is at the desk and there is someone slipping away from the image showing that someone is running away from the toxic work to enjoy the simple pleasure of life. I feel this message is very important and we should all take part in the move to enjoy ourselves.
I think the message of the image is trying to convey that even though we feel like we are in our safe place, there will always be work/news coverage from the media that is bad, and we need to take a rest out of the picture. This relates to society or current events because you’re going to find out the news of a topic when you are trying to relax, so there is no escape around it. I can relate to this personally because when I try to take a break from work/social media (where I get my news), there is always someone I overhear or tells me that something went wrong when I just don’t want to think about anything negative.
— Sebastian Perez, Philadelphia, PA
Work-Life Balance
In the image, the laptop screen shows an exclamation mark which can illustrate that it is overloaded and cannot be used anymore. Similarly, when people are overworked too much, they can become “overloaded” and stressed out that they aren’t able to “function” properly. Also, although the sunset is providing some light, there’s a lamp on top of the desk possibly showing that the person was so focused on his work, that he didn’t even realize that a lamp was unnecessary. As time passes, it can be inferred that the person has been overworked and is dying to escape from his workload since he tries to escape from the image, as you can see at the bottom right. Furthermore, it seems that he is dressed for the beach based on his flip flops and green shirt possibly indicating that he wants to enjoy the beautiful beach now and relax. Through this illustration, I believe the creator is trying to send a message to people who overwork themselves: you don’t need to push yourself too hard. Sometimes, it’s okay to relax.
— Merry, Glenbard West High School, IL
A more simplistic photo would show an escape from the computer alone, and our hero advancing into the easy atmosphere of the sunset. What it offers instead is a much complex photo, of the man escaping the scene altogether. I take the direct juxtaposition of the desk and the beach as a symbol of a ruined work-life balance and the internet’s enabling a longer arm to all bosses so that they may reach you whenever they like, regardless of whether you’re on the clock or not. This amalgamation prevents you from enjoying yourself. Alternatively, it’s a commentary on the “self-care industry”, where companies will have you buy your peace through expensive and unnecessary products. It prevents any true introspection or real self care, because it doesn’t require you actually think about your life. And yet this is becoming the norm when we think of what self care entails. We see our hero rejecting the entire system as he makes his escape from the picture, in search of true spiritual enlightenment that cannot be bought or sold.
Impossible to Truly Get Off the Grid
In today’s day and age, considering oneself “off the grid” requires far more effort than in previous decades. You’d like to be off the grid, but you still have nine social media accounts lurking in the back of your mind, promotional emails flooding your inbox with consistent reminders of other commitments. Sure, it’s easy to remove oneself from a physical environment that causes stress, whether this means work or school or one’s home life. But fully removing oneself from the situation is impossible; calls will still come through, deadlines won’t change, and people can contact each other on various platforms. Going off the grid is borderline impossible, and finding an escape from this reality can be just as difficult.
— Lexi Kud, Glenbard West High School
A Need to Reconnect to the Natural World
Technology has consumed the lives of many through the use of entertaining streaming tools or communication apps designed to attract any person. Unbeknownst to the users, they in turn dissociate with the world around them — as this illustration depicts, technology is the focal point in our priorities while ignoring the bliss of the world around us. In other words, we lose touch with reality as soon as we begin to ignore the world around us. Decades ago, people lived within their environment, based their lives off of it, now, we create fictitious realities for ourselves, separating us from living. Envy in nature’s beauty. Cherish the world around you. Ask yourself, am I living, or am I alive?
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