The TikTok Phenomenon of Faking Mental Disorders

Is mental illness becoming trendy online?

The extremes that young people will go to for attention seem to grow more and more outrageous. TikTok is one of the most popular social media sites, used primarily by Millennials and Gen Z kids. It blew up during the pandemic and is known for dancing, makeup reviews, and stunts shot on short videos that usually last less than a minute or two.

As it seems though everyone wants to be an “influencer” and have their 15 minutes of fame these days, I wasn’t shocked about this new trend of faking a mental illness to grow clout on TikTok. It saddens me that young people feel the need to be more and more scandalous to attract the limelight. Especially when mental health awareness is starting to become more prominent in society, at schools, and even in the workplace.

There are many legitimate cases of people with mental illness and their stories deserve to be told. This encourages others to feel less alone or stigmatized if they’re experiencing mental health issues themselves. It also teaches those who don’t have mental afflictions to treat mental illness humanely and without reproach.

Maybe because society is just starting to applaud mental health awareness, some young people believe that it can provide them with an identity and clout. We seem to be simultaneously going through an episode in which the more labels you possess, the better.

Somewhere along the way, the oversharing that’s now common on social media met the idea that one’s mental illnesses were the most interesting thing about themselves, and faking symptoms of rare disorders evolved.

It’s almost like a victimhood contest. If you watch some TikTok videos, people will list off their calamities as a way of identifying and validating who they are or who they want to be. The person with the most hardships seems to “win” the purity test.

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