The Spotlight Effect
The Spotlight Effect is a psychological phenomenon, defined as the tendency to overestimate the extent to which others notice, judge, and remember your appearance and behavior. In other words, the tendency of finding yourself in the spotlight when it’s not really so.
Particularly common among adolescents and young adults, this behaviors stems from the fact that people are intensely social creatures, and so an increased concern regarding one’s position in the eyes of others is an essential element of successful social life. The downside to this concern with one’s social position is excessive thoughts on one’s appearance and presentation, so as to fit the approval in the eyes of others— and hence, a gross overestimation of the extent to which one is the target of others’ thoughts and attention.
