What About Me Effect

'What about me?' Effect. What even is the ‘What about me’ effect? Tiktok creator, Sarah Lockwood (@sarahthebookfairy), explains what it is. “The ‘what about me effect’ is when someone sees something that doesn't really pertain to them, or they cant fully relate to, and they find a way to make it about them- or try to seek out certain accommodations for their very nuanced, personalized situation instead of recognizing that maybe they're just not the target audience for that thing”.

The ‘what about me’ effect can be seen across all platforms, but mostly on TikTok and Instagram. When someone shares their personal experience, a recommendation, or even a recipe, the comment section is flooded with remarks like: “What if I can’t eat/wear/use/buy/ or just don't like that particular thing?”.

An example that Lockwood shares of this happening is on a viral video of a bean soup recipe. It's made with many different types of beans. The creator of this TikTok says she eats it during her menstrual cycle because it's high in plant iron. But the comment section was filled with comments such as : “can you substitute the beans?”, “what if i don't like/not in the mood for beans?”, instead of scrolling past the video if it did not pertain to them.

Another example of this phenomenon is in a video made by Micheline Maalouf, who is a mental health professional. She created a TikTok sharing tips to help with panic attacks by suggesting to eat sour candy or salty/spicy foods. Comments like: “this is dangerous. I have diabetes so how can you say that to people” and “If I listen to your advice I could die, I have high blood pressure. I can't believe you're being so irresponsible with this.” could be found in her comment section.

Although these are distasteful comments, Lockwood makes an important distinction between the “what about me effect’ and actual equality and inclusivity. Lockwood exclaimed how the comments she's talking about are “mockery of real arguments for inclusivity, which causes people to not take valid and important points of equality and inclusion seriously”.

Again we all have to keep in mind that not every post that comes on our feed is going to be for us. If it's not something that has to do with you, you can either enjoy the content or scroll past it.