The ‘Bean Soup Theory’ Explains Why Everyone Thinks Everything Has To Be About Them At All Times
LarsZ | Shutterstock A woman, who goes by Mac, shared on TikTok how a recipe for bean soup illustrated the "What About Me Effect," describing how an online mindset mixed with individualism leads people to take things personally and view every bit of information, content, and news as only impacting their own lives.
Imagine yourself for a second scrolling through socials. When it comes to real entertainment, the comment section is always where it's at. It's both where the rational speak out and main character energy thrives. And it's also exactly where the "Bean Soup Theory" was born.
Sarah, who describes herself as “a girls girl who likes deep talks, T Swift, and books about fairies,” recently uploaded a video on TikTok in which she coins the phrase the “What About Me Effect,” a mindset that occurs when you mix a chronically online point of view with the hyper-individualistic society we’ve come to know in the US today.
The 'Bean Soup Theory' explains why everyone thinks everything has to be about them.
The “What About Me Effect” is rampant on TikTok, but according to Mac, the issue goes much deeper than that. First and foremost, the “What About Me Effect” is when someone sees something online that doesn’t necessarily pertain to them, they weren’t the target audience, or it just isn’t something they relate to, and still, they try to make it about them anyway.
As an example, Mac referred to a video sharing a bean soup recipe. Let's just repeat that. The video featured how to make bean soup. BEAN SOUP. The “Bean Soup Theory” is illustrated by all of the people who commented, “What should I do if I don’t like beans?” or “How do I make this without the beans?” That's the "What About Me Effect" only as it relates in this case, to bean soup.
The 'Bean Soup Theory' highlights a lack of self-awareness that seems rampant on social media.
The problem with this mentality is that people will then try to flex their moral superiority over others for not applying the subject to everybody, asking questions like, "Why didn’t that person make bean soup without beans?" The answer should simply be that the video wasn’t for people who don’t like beans.
Or, as Mac pointed out, "Look up a different recipe." Mac even referenced another video featuring a content creator opening up about how difficult it was that their father was getting arrested. Guess what the most liked comment was? "Well, my dad is dead."
Mac highlighted the problematic nature of the lack of self-awareness, noting, "Yes, you can comment whatever you want on people’s videos, but it’s crazy to me that you’re gonna find any way to make a video that is in no way targeted towards you, like you are not the target audience, and you're still gonna make it about yourself."
It's okay not to find a personal connection with every piece of content on social feeds.
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Another creator named Sarah shared a similar take as Mac in a separate video. She said, “So when you come onto this app, and you see a video, and you have the urge to comment something like, ‘well, what about my very specific scenario’ or ‘well, not everyone can blah blah,’ I’m going to encourage you to stop." She went on to say, “Use your noggin, and remember that things are nuanced, not everything can apply to every single person, and there doesn’t always need to be a specific accommodation for you.”
For example, there’s no reason Sarah should come home from a long day, scroll through TikTok, see a video about how to put her hair up in a really cute way, and then read a comment asking “What if I’m bald?” This is a scenario she claimed actually happened. She equated it to having a gluten intolerance and posting comments on baking posts all over the site that she can’t have gluten.“That would be ridiculous,” she exclaimed. “I can just go watch videos of people making gluten-free bread.”
There’s a level of media literacy required for people to engage with social media in an acceptable way.
When you’re chronically online, it’s hard to step back from the boundaries set by your phone screen and recognize that there are perspectives outside your own. Some people use social media to interact with the world, and when they start to feel left out or excluded, they try to insert themselves into the situation in the only way they know how, making it about them or their opinion.
Jessica Maddox, a social media expert and assistant professor of digital media at the University of Alabama, told HuffPost that the Bean Soup Theory is an example of "the individualistic culture of the United States and how social media has made us self-centered." She went on to say, “I believe it’s made us solipsistic, or the view that the self is the only thing that can be known. Solipsism positions us at the center of all discussions and topics, because it’s believed that things can only be known through one’s experience.”
Sadly, social media's algorithm has fed into this hyperindividual mentality and reinforced the belief that only our interests and opinions matter. Differences in perspective (so long as they do not harm others) should be celebrated rather than twisted into something they aren't. If the bean soup video didn't help you out, then it wasn't made for you.
Let's start celebrating autonomy again, or at the very least, let's take a breath before posting a comment. You might think twice about your view if you give it a second.
Isaac Serna-Diez is a writer who focuses on entertainment and news, social justice, and politics.
