You can find embarrassing situations left, right, and center. The closer you’ll look, the more you start thinking about what situations are truly socially awkward, the more likely you are to realize that navigating through life can be a nightmare, with pitfalls everywhere. Hopefully, alien species don’t have to deal with the same stuff that we do, whatever part of the galaxy they’re from.
Even situations that logically thinking shouldn’t be embarrassing at all can have us blushing from the awkwardness. That’s exactly what TikTok user Lily, aka Big_big_simp shared in her viral video about all the little things that she sees as totally embarrassing for no reason. From sneezing in class (oh, Lord, I’ve been there and it’s awful) to walking across the street with a car stopped in front of you and more.
The internet’s full of similar simple but super awkward situations that many of you Pandas are bound to relate to. I know I do. Check them out below, upvote the ones that you find the most embarrassing, and let us know in the comments what situations make you cringe inside so much, you want to run away and live as a hermit on a mountaintop. And be sure to read on for Lily's interview with Bored Panda. Oh, and keep in mind that being embarrassed has its upsides!
A lot of people related to Lily's viral video about the weird things we find embarrassing
#1
sitting there while people sing you happy birthday
Image credits: Tik Toker
#2
Introducing yourself to the class on the first day
Image credits: Juju
#3
Pretending to need something else at the groceries until the person moves out of the way of what you actually need
Image credits: Cavazos
Bored Panda reached out to Lily to learn more about her viral video. She told me she "definitely didn't expect" to get so much attention online. Going viral was a pleasant surprise for her. "One of my friends actually inspired me to make the video. My friend and I were talking about things that we think are embarrassing and I decided to make a TikTok video about it," she revealed the inspiration behind the incredibly successful video.
#4
People watching you do things then it makes you forget how to do things normally
Image credits: Ruby Willis
#5
Walking out of a store without buying anything
Image credits: Kayla
#6
When your shoe makes a fart noise
Image credits: sadgrungeboy
I wanted to get Lily's take on why the video resonated with so many people and why they find these situations very embarrassing. According to her, it's all about unwanted attention. "I think that people find these kinds of things embarrassing because you feel like everyone is watching you. The best advice I could give is to try and ignore everyone else and just focus on yourself," she told Bored Panda.
Lily added that she fully believes that showing signs of embarrassment strengthens social connections.
#7
Walking up the stairs in front of someone
Image credits: Thissgirl_
#8
when someone knocks on the door while you’re in the restroom & you have to answer so they know you’re in there
Image credits: kailey
#9
You say bye and you both walk to the same direction together
Image credits: Giri11
Lily’s viral video got over 7.5 million views since being posted on July 22. What’s more, the video was liked a whopping 1.4 million times, reshared 35.5k times, and received 24k comments. Obviously, a whole bunch of people could relate to the TikToker’s brain finding random situations embarrassing.
It got me thinking that life can truly be incredibly difficult if we don’t have the mental fortitude to accept things as they come. Fortunately for us, embarrassment is, well, nothing to be embarrassed about! Earlier, I had a chat about this with Vanessa Bohns, an Associate Professor of Organizational Behavior at Cornell University and the author of the forthcoming book 'You Have More Influence Than You Think.’
#10
when you see someone coming your direction from super far away and you have to awkwardly wait until theyre close enough to smile or say hi
Image credits: stanguyfieri
#11
Opening cards trying to act like you don’t see money in there
Image credits: Sierra
#12
When your chair moves and makes a fart noise and then you have to try to recreate it to let everyone know u didn’t fart
Image credits: Sierra
Vanessa explained to Bored Panda that when we openly and honestly demonstrate that we’re embarrassed, instead of hiding it, this helps us connect to others better.
“Displaying signs of mild embarrassment can actually be socially constructive and make people feel more sympathetic towards you in the face of your faux pas,” Vanessa told Bored Panda earlier.
#13
somone holding the door open for you but you're still a bit far from the door
Image credits: dulce
#14
When your stomach growls is the worst
Image credits: tzatzikidill
#15
Coughing/sneezing in class
Image credits: big_big_simp
“I don’t necessarily think you need to take pains to hide it,” she said that we should embrace how we’re feeling at the moment. The goal, however, is to prevent your embarrassment from turning into shame.
“What you want to be careful not to do is to let embarrassment morph into the more destructive self-conscious emotion of shame, where you feel so badly about a minor mistake that you start to think there is something wrong with you and feel the need to completely disappear and hide away yourself,” Vanessa said.
#16
Getting out of the pool
Image credits: big_big_simp
#17
Parking next to someone sitting in their car.
Image credits: lovedeleted
#18
Walking at a crosswalk with a car stopped
Image credits: big_big_simp
#19
Walking past a group of people the same age as you
Image credits: reallarrydavid
#20
Walking back after bowling
Image credits: big_big_simp
#21
Turning around and walking the other way.
Image credits: LadybugElizabeth
#22
Wiping my nose
Image credits: Mallkno
#23
The worst one is looking for someone in a restaurant who is already there but you don’t know where they’re sitting#24
Entering a elevator with a bunch of people and the whole time it’s silent.
Image credits: Doobs
#25
I get embarrassed the most when I speak and no one hears me then someone goes WHAT
Image credits: recallrecrectly
#26
Drinking out of a water fountain#27
Pushing your grocery cart to only realize you got the squeakiest/loudest cart#28
Finding your seat at a movie theater
Image credits: big_big_simp
#29
Waiting for your coffee order
Image credits: reallarrydavid
#30
Walking to the car from ur house when someone comes to pick u up
Image credits: gi
#31
Walking to your table at a restaurant or getting up to go to the restroom at a restaurant
Image credits: ItsMeJess
#32
Eating in front of ppl#33
Walking past a group of 8th graders#34
Eating messy food#35
Don’t forget walking into the gym in the middle of a basketball game#36
I get embarrassed when my windshield wipers are going faster than everyone else’s on the road#37
Sometimes I wonder if I breathe too loud or fast#38
Asking to borrow someone's keys.#39
when you’re backing out your car and someone is waiting to take your spot#40
Finding a spot on a busy beach#41
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