by by Bella Medina
We have all heard of social media lowering self-esteem and affecting the mental health of its users with symptoms of depression and anxiety. However, a prevalent issue in today’s internet and celebrity culture is vanity.
Introducing Main Character Syndrome: a social media term describing an individual who acts like they are the main character in life which overlaps with many different mental health concerns.
SYMPTOMS
People who have main character syndrome often:
- seek constant attention
- lack empathy
- have inflated egos
- Have excessive entitlement and/or self-importance
- have a continual need for external validation.
WHAT DOES ALL THIS MEAN?
Many of these symptoms coincide with the negative attitudes and behaviors of social media influencers. This is not to stigmatize all influencers with main character syndrome affliction, but rather to highlight the heavy correlation between narcissistic personas and persistent social media use.
While it might seem like an individualistic selfishness, main character syndrome does negatively impact those around you. As individuals with main character symptoms often cannot maintain relationships with others they will never see as equals but ‘side characters’: therefore, always putting themselves forward. It’s a warped sense of reality that puts everyone in precarious uncomfortable and shameful situations.
HOW IT IS SEEN NOW
A trending topic on certain algorithms within TikTok such as ‘Gay TikTok’ shows just how far someone yearning for their main character moment will go.
Internet personality, comedian, and show host Brittany Broski was recently seen projected on screen at a Charli XCX concert (for the Sweat Tour) dancing to Charli’s song “apple” when another audience member quickly shoved her out of the way to get their ‘main character moment’ on camera.
Fans of both Brittany and Charli are enraged calling out the person in the video who shoved Brittany while also addressing how the city of Los Angeles as a whole has a main character syndrome problem.
Brittany was in a mass crowd of people. The person in the video could have severely injured her had she hit something in the stadium or been trampled. This person, who isn’t even an influencer, actively pushed someone into a potentially dangerous situation because of their incessant need for the spotlight.
You do not need to be an influencer or social media official to experience this delusional mindset all you need is a consistent relationship with social media as most teenagers and young adults do today. Between Instagram, X, and TikTok everyone has access to at least three or more platforms where they are the focal point and only subject. For lack of better words, where you are the main character.
Bella,
I LOVE that somebody is talking about this! I’ve heard over the years that people who make social media content for a living (especially on YouTube and TikTok) have to be a little bit narcissistic, and it’s interesting to see you flesh that thought out. I find it interesting that it’s also starting to flood into everyday people as shown by your example. It’s hard to find the balance between romanticizing your life vs. main character syndrome.
Hi Bella,
I think you make a very good point about this! To be honest, I haven’t made the correlation between people who depend on making social content for a living to be narcissistic. You present a good argument about people with persistent social media use to view these platforms as a way to be seen by the world. Reflecting on it, many people who are chronically addicted to social media always use these platforms to share every detail happening in their lives, making them the main characters. I find your analysis of the main character syndrome very interesting because it presents the negative effect social media has on our society’s mental health.
I think that main character syndrome and parasocial relationships have been such a major part of social media lately. People always talk about how out of touch influencers are with society and it’s always passed off as something “expected” as part of the job, and it’s almost like we as an audience have grown accustomed to. The rise of influencers and people wanting to become one has definitely contributed to main character syndrome.
Hi Bella, nice work! “Main Character Syndrome highlights how social media can blur the line between self-expression and narcissism. It’s concerning to see how the need for validation can impact relationships and lead to harmful behaviors. This article is a valuable reminder to stay mindful of how online personas affect our real-world interactions.”