what is main character syndrome?
main character syndrome is when someone acts like they're the protagonist of a movie and everyone else is either a supporting character or an NPC in their story. on social media, it manifests as posting as if you have an audience of millions hanging on your every update.
it's that energy of "everybody's watching" when actually nobody asked.
main character moments on social media
classic symptoms:
- posting a dramatic thread about your day like it's a season finale
- making everything about yourself, even when it's clearly not
- vague-posting for attention
- treating minor inconveniences like plot twists
- expecting everyone to know your personal lore
the timeline announcements:
- "wow. so this just happened."
- "I can't even describe what I'm going through rn"
- "some of you need to hear this"
- "for those asking..." (no one was asking)
- "y'all are about to be in my book"
when main character energy works
here's the thing: a little main character energy isn't always bad for content creation.
good main character energy:
- confidently sharing your perspective
- telling engaging personal stories
- not apologizing for having opinions
- treating your audience like they're part of something
bad main character energy:
- expecting everyone to care about everything
- making other people's moments about you
- the vague-posting for attention
- acting persecuted over minor criticism
the main character paradox
the most effective content creators have learned to harness main character energy without the annoying parts. they post like their life is interesting (it is, to someone) while maintaining the self-awareness to know when to sit one out.
the key is: be the main character of YOUR content, not everyone else's.
are you the main character?
signs you might have main character syndrome:
- you've posted "manifesting" unironically this week
- you described a normal life event as "a whole journey"
- you've made an aesthetic that's just... you
- your followers know your coffee order
- you refer to periods of your life as "eras"
signs you're self-aware about it:
- you're reading this and feeling called out
- you laughed but also felt attacked
- you're already composing the tweet about this