zlacker

> But autism may also be the only relevant diagnosis they’ve heard of or are familiar with. They haven’t seen any cool TikToks about being schizoid. No one’s offering them quizzes about being schizotypal.

Don't underestimate TikTok. You can find all sorts of weird fad mental illness there. For a while tourette syndrome was all the rage and the platform was filled with kids faking tics. There are fake epileptics faking seizures too. OCD is another common "cool" self-diagnosis and there are online quizzes to tell you how OCD, or ADHD or bipolar you are. It wouldn't surprise me at all if schizoid or schizotypal caught on.

I think some people are looking for the self-validation that can come with a diagnoses, an explanation for why they are the way the are, feel the way they do, or why they struggle with certain things. Others are just looking for views, attention, or a community to belong to.

While it can be fairly harmless the ability for mass sociogenic illness to spread via social media is interesting and a bit frightening.

>>autoex+(OP)
> For a while tourette syndrome was all the rage and the platform was filled with kids faking tics.

Kind of like all those kids in Le Roy, NY who began experiencing involuntary tics. IIRC, it was interesting that it was mostly girls who were affected by the "craze".

https://www.npr.org/2012/03/10/148372536/the-curious-case-of...

>>autoex+(OP)
There was (perhaps still is) a lot of stuff on there by people claiming to have dissociative identity disorder (what used to be called multiple personalities)