You're not the main character, you're just awful
Concert goers are fed-up with poor etiquette from fellow audience members
For more music analyses and artist spotlights, subscribe to my weekly music newsletter published every Wednesday
“Main character syndrome has gone way too far,” said TikTok user Maggie Dale in a video. “And it’s ruining concert experiences.”
For reference, “Main Character Syndrome” is a TikTok-popularized term, not an actual mental health diagnosis, that refers to seeing oneself as the protagonist of their own life. Sounds like a positive outlook, no?
Well, Dale goes on to talk about how at a Maggie Rogers concert in L.A., two girls without seats in the orchestra decided to rush to the front, stand in the aisles, and hide from security in the middle of the show. They proceeded to yell at the singer between songs.
“It was clear they were just trying to get Maggie’s attention,” Dale said. “Meanwhile, the rest of us are just trying to figure out what the hell Maggie is saying, because that’s all part of the concert experience, not just listening to the songs.”
According to Dale, the singer stopped the show as a result of their yelling. Now that they finally had her attention, they began begging her to bring them on stage.
This behavior is associated with main character syndrome, which has been criticized for leading people to act rudely in public, for the sake of having a story to tell.
Of course, there are ways to channel this energy positively. Life coaches and counselors have been saying “you are the author of your own story” for years. But recently, especially when it comes to concerts, folks on the Internet see this attention-seeking trend as just plain rude.
Anyways, Follow For More
Insta: @sarah.alessandrini • TikTok: @sarahalessa_ • Spotify: @saraha724
“People who have Main Character Syndrome think life is a movie and embrace the memes that encourage this outlook, saying things like ‘you have to start romanticizing your life,’” Michelle Santiago Cortés writes in a Refinery29 article.
According to Insider, people with main character syndrome tend to see others as supporting characters, and experts say having this syndrome is a coping mechanism in response to feeling a lack of control over one’s life.
Digital platforms, like TikTok, make it even easier for people to fall into this state of mind. Although unlikely, main character syndrome can share traits with narcissistic personality disorder, Psychology Today says.
“It’s a departure from reality, and it’s little wonder that ‘main character’ can also be used as an insult to describe a person who thinks everyone is as obsessed with them as they are with themselves,”
- Michelle Santiago Cortés, Refinery 29
Poor concert etiquette is nothing new, but has been a heightened topic of discussion on social media since live shows returned during the pandemic.
A few months ago, Vice ran a story centered around audience heckling and poor behavior during several major shows, like when a fan threw their phone at Harry Styles and insisted he take their BeReal, or a fan asking Mitski to “spit in her mouth.”
“It’s a departure from reality, and it’s little wonder that ‘main character’ can also be used as an insult to describe a person who thinks everyone is as obsessed with them as they are with themselves,” Cortés also writes.
Social media also allows audiences to record these unacceptable moments, such as fans throwing things on stage or making gross sexual remarks about artists during their sets.
Another TikTok user, Karni Olivia, with the username keepdrivingkarni, also made a video expressing frustration at disrespectful behavior at shows, particularly Phoebe Bridgers recent show in Sydney, where Karni said fans would shout out what songs they wanted her to play.
“You are not the main character, the performer is the main character,” Dale said. “You are simply an extra in the crowd. Don’t make this about you, just have some fun.”