The pandemic pushed us all into the idea that we need to step up and be the protagonist of our own life. And TikTok was a big promoter of this message: Cue the soft harp and violins with a soothing female voice saying, “You have to start romanticizing your life. You have to start thinking of yourself as the main character. ’Cause if you don’t, life will continue to pass you by.” Onscreen, you see a woman running through the streets of Paris in slow motion. Her hair is tossed in the wind as she glances back at the camera to smile in full appreciation of her life. She has “main character syndrome.”
@brooketaylorkier i love this audio. live your life to the fullest ✨#foryoupage
Everyone suddenly has main character syndrome.
This sound has reached over three million views on various TikTok accounts. The “main character” blueprint has become part of a viral social media trend toward the Type A personality. Popular content shines the spotlight on any person willing to make themselves the center of attention while everyone else fades into the background. The idea can be put in a positive light by acknowledging self-care and putting your needs first. It can bring about a healthy lifestyle in multiple aspects. For example, it may focus attention on mental health or daily exercise. And the higher your self-esteem, the more your confidence and sense of well-being are likely to increase. But in a less positive light, it can be seen as narcissism: Is this person becoming oblivious to the world as they wear their rose-colored glasses?
#MainCharacterEnergy
After the recent surge of jealousy-inducing Instagram stories and sparkling TikToks, a New Yorker article called #maincharacterenergy the “return of FOMO.” According to Dr. Michael Karson in Psychology Today, main character syndrome could almost be seen as a coping mechanism following the isolation of the pandemic. And, unfortunately, this mindset creates another movement: #NotTheMainCharacter. The popularity of this hashtag reveals how people develop insecurities after comparing one person’s sparkle with their seemingly lackluster life.
At the same, this messaging has compelled some previously self-absorbed people to turn off their ring lights and see that they are, in fact, not the main character. Is the alternative so bad? Karson gives the example of the comedy series “Friends” and the impossibility to say who is the main character. In this sort of “egalitarian ensemble,” people “speak to improve the conversation, not to show off.”
Will the trend continue?
It’s not uncommon to imagine that you are the main character of your own life. It makes sense, given that people have acted as the main character throughout all of human history. So, do you have main character energy? Or are you a “Friends” character?
