When people are anxiously hooked onto social media for dopamine hits, political sentiment online may not represent their honest feedback on political leadership. Precarious engagement with extreme content gives a false perception of views and opinions that may not reflect the deep-seated opinions and needs of citizens.

The main character syndrome, popularised on TikTok by the Gen-Zers and Millennials, is when one acts or imagines oneself as a protagonist in a fictional version of their life. For Kathy, unlike many her age (including this author), the syndrome presents a type of American individualism, where one is further removed from society to live as a hyper-realistic, fictionalised version of themselves. For several individuals in pursuit of the happiness reserved for the main character, birthdays act as a mirror to the hard-hitting reality that you may not be one.