Embracing Your Inner Ex-Gacha Kid With Nostalgia and Self-Compassion

Embracing Your Inner Ex-Gacha Kid

We all have parts of ourselves that we're not so proud of - things we did, liked, or believed in the past that make us cringe now. And that's okay! Growing up means changing, and looking back on our younger selves with some embarrassment is a rite of passage.

One particularly cringey subculture that many tweens and teens in the late 2010s participated in was the world of Gacha Life. For those who don't know, Gacha Life was an anime-style dress up and storytelling game that was hugely popular on YouTube and among middle schoolers. Many kids made Gacha music videos (GMVs), series, and shorts using the game's customizable characters and story options.

The Rise of Gacha Culture

At first, Gacha Life seemed like harmless fun. Kids could put together short skits and stories using the game's assets. More artistic or tech-savvy users even learned to edit and customize the characters and settings. Gacha Life gave bored tweens an outlet for their creativity.

But over time, Gacha culture developed a reputation for being strange at best and inappropriate at worst. Gacha storylines tended toward the absurd and overdramatic. Absurd plot elements like wolf ears, powers, hybrid characters, and "bad boys" popped up constantly. Even more concerning, some users made sexually suggestive or violent content.

Still, for kids going through their edgy tween phase, it felt cool and grown-up to make "bad boy" romances and angsty stories featuring topics like abuse, depression, death, and the supernatural. At the time, it seemed so mature. Looking back...yikes.

The Cringe Factor

Now that many of us are adults, we can see Gacha Life for what it was - a hyper-dramatic, melodramatic, angsty online playground. When you think about the types of plots and characters that your average 12-year-old comes up with, it makes sense. But it's still embarrassing to remember how ~deep~ those stories felt at the time.

Even more mortifying are the trends that developed in Gacha communities. Things like:

• Super edgy lone wolf characters with dark powers
• "Bad boy" love interests
• Putting your characters in sexual situations
• Making "I'm not like other girls" type characters
• Turning real people into Gacha characters

Yeah...looking back, it was definitely a cringefest. No wonder so many former Gacha kids want to leave that phase behind them.

Owning Your Past

Although Gacha Life makes many of us cringe now, it's important to remember a few things:

• We were just kids messing around online. It wasn't serious business.
• Making cringey content is part of how we developed creativity and storytelling skills.
• Everyone goes through awkward phases growing up. It's nothing to beat yourself up over.

The healthiest way forward is to own your past with humor and self-compassion. Keep cringing at the Gacha content you made, but balance it out by laughing at yourself. Recognize the impulse behind it - to be creative, connect with others, and try on different identities. Then leave it in the past where it belongs.

Re-Examining Problematic Gacha Tropes

Looking at some common Gacha character tropes and storylines now, it's easy to see their appeal to young teens:

"Bad Boys"

The appeal of the "bad boy" love interest is obvious - he's brooding, dangerous, and exciting. For kids starting to explore romance and identity, bad boys represent a fantasy of being mature and desired. But in reality, those character tropes glamorize and normalize emotional unavailability, jealousy, and unhealthy relationships.

Exploiting Trauma

Gacha storylines often exploited traumatic topics like abuse, suicide, illness, and grief shock value. But portraying those topics simplistically or sensationally can spread misinformation and even encourage self-harm or suicidal behavior in vulnerable kids.

Toxic Gender Tropes

"I'm not like other girls" characters reinforce the unhealthy idea that conventional femininity is inferior. Characters made solely for their sexual appeal teach girls their worth comes mainly from looks. And male characters stoicism harms boys by teaching them to suppress emotions and shun vulnerability.

Looking critically at these Gacha tropes now makes their harm clear. But as kids, playing with these dangerous concepts felt grown-up and powerful. Acknowledging these problems within Gacha culture is an important part of learning and maturing.

Channeling Creativity in Healthier Ways

Although Gacha Life appealed to kids' creativity, it brought out some unhealthy tendencies too. As we move forward, how can former Gacha kids express creativity in more positive ways?

Focus on Originality

Instead of recycling popular tropes, try creating characters and stories that reflect your unique identity and experiences. Focusing on originality forces you to dig deeper into what matters to you.

Collaborate with Others

Making art in partnership with others builds community and gives you valuable feedback. Collaborating also combats the isolation that allows toxic ideas to flourish.

Spread Positive Messages

Use your creativity to share stories and messages that uplift people instead of shocking or disturbing them. Healing content has just as much power to connect with an audience.

Learn Healthy Relationship Skills

If you explore romance in your content, model healthy relationship values like mutual respect, good communication, compromise, and consent. Portraying healthy relationships in creative work helps normalize those values.

By focusing on originality, community, positivity, and health in our creative work, we can counterbalance some of the problematic tropes that flourished in old Gacha culture. The edgy Gacha phase helped us develop our creativity. Now it's time to channel that energy into content that makes the world a little brighter.

Fostering Nostalgia for Gacha

Although today's Gacha content makes us cringe, it's still tied to happy memories of childhood creativity and friendship. A fun way to look back on our Gacha days is with nostalgia!

#TBTs

Posting throwbacks to your old Gacha phase can be hilarious. Share screenshots of your characters or videos you made for a funny blast from the past. Just use hashtags like #gachalifecringe to show you're in on the joke!

Reacting to Old Content

Film yourself reacting to the Gacha content you made as a kid! Laughing at our old selves is a bonding experience. And it shows how far your creative skills have come.

Cosplay

Get together with friends to recreate your old Gacha OCs in cosplay and make skits or dances! This turns something embarrassing into happy memories with the people you made Gacha content with.

Gacha Nostalgia Playlist

Make a playlist of songs used in old Gacha Life videos you and your friends loved. Listening together is a fun throwback.

Nostalgia for the creativity of our youth helps us cherish the memories while still acknowledging the cringe. No matter how awkward your Gacha phase was, it was an important part of your self-expression and growing up.

The Value of a Cringey Past

Looking back on a cringey past can be embarrassing. But it also gives you perspective on how much you've grown. Here are some positive things we can take from those hyper-dramatic Gacha days:

Developing Creativity

Even if Gacha videos made us cringe now, making them helped us build creative skills we can apply to healthier content today.

Learning Empathy

Thinking critically about toxic Gacha tropes builds understanding of marginalized groups and healthy relationships that young kids lacked.

Having Confidence

As awkward as Gacha phase was, putting yourself out there took confidence! That bravery serves us well in creating as adults.

Finding a Community

The bonds formed in the Gacha community, even around cringey content, helped us feel less alone and more creative.

A cringey past reminds us not to take ourselves too seriously. And it proves how much room we still have to learn and grow. So while Gacha videos might never see the light of day again, the skills we built back then are still valuable today.

FAQs

Should I be ashamed of the cringey Gacha content I made?

Absolutely not! It's a normal part of exploring your creativity as a kid. Look back with humor and self-compassion instead of shame.

Is it ok to delete my old Gacha videos?

Yes, deleting old content you're embarrassed by is perfectly fine. You can preserve happy memories without keeping the actual videos.

How do I tell friends about my Gacha phase?

If they don't know already, you could say something like "I went through a major Gacha phase back in the day. I made the cringiest videos!" Most people will find it relatable.

Should I feel bad for liking problematic Gacha tropes?

You didn't know better at the time. But you can acknowledge now that some of those tropes were unhealthy or damaging.

Will people judge me for my Gacha past?

Maybe a little, but most will understand we all did cringey things growing up. Owning it with humor diffuses judgment.