"I wanted to be witnessed in pain": Why people film themselves crying and post it online? 

Crying is a mood but now it's also content. In 2025, we capture all the tears and post them online. Let's call it the age of "sadbait." TikTok is a 24/7 emotional rollercoaster, where you can witness everything from dramatic breakdowns to deeply relatable moments. These aren't just random bursts of emotion– they're strategically crafted performances designed to make you stop scrolling.

And if you haven’t noticed so far, they work.

Take Emmy Hartman's 2017 emotional meltdown over a traffic ticket. A little too much drama, and suddenly her unfiltered freakout went viral. Her goofy breakdown, complete with hysterical tears and random singing, might’ve been a 17-year-old’s way of venting, but it turned her into a TikTok star.

And guess what? She's now banking on it with millions of followers and a budding music career. So it's not about the reason you cry but how many people see it.

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"I wanted to be witnessed in pain"

But crying online is not just about getting viral for fun. There's also a deeper, somewhat wholesome: connection. Amie McNee used to post herself crying to find a community of fellow creators during those dark days when she navigated rejection in her writing career.

It wasn't drama, it was about being visible. In a conversation with CNN, she revealed:

“I wanted to be witnessed in pain”.

Now let's not be honest, we have all, kind of, been there at some point, haven't we, Tristan Blackwood? This guy posted himself crying on TikTok at the age of his teens just because he had this feeling like nobody was ever around.

He told CNN:

“I just wanted to be validated. (I was thinking) someone, please see me. I need help.”

Still, after undergoing the unkind comments, it dawned upon him that online sympathy did not fix his life; it's therapy and true connections off-screen.

Now, let’s talk about the elephant in the room: authenticity. What’s the deal with crying content being seen as "authentic"?

Some influencers, like Remi Bader, are proving that tears can be a seriously strategic tool in the branding game. After a breakup, a weight loss journey, and a whole lot of weeping on her socials, she turned her sadness into a brand.

She is just milking the "cry for clout" thing, as was pointed out by researcher Jess Rauchberg to CNN.

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Is the really that deep?

Yes, some will probably say that all this talk of authenticity over your post when you go ahead and display your tears.

Ysabel Gerrard, a lecturer on digital media, for one, tells CNN that it's blurry as far as distinguishing between performance and vulnerability is concerned.

Crying online is, by its very nature, a performance, even if we want to believe it's 100% real.

And, of course, there's the undeniable truth: the internet loves a good cry. Whether it is watching the dramatic unfolding of a breakup or simply a fit thrown over some slight frustration, such moments draw our attention because we are all so human.

We want to see that raw emotion. For Gen Z and Gen Alpha, this has become second nature to just let the camera roll as the emotions flow.

It is kind of as though the phone was developed specifically to get and record most of the vulnerable moments– and believe it, people kinda love it.