{"id":35740,"date":"2021-05-29T09:11:48","date_gmt":"2021-05-29T13:11:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=35740"},"modified":"2021-06-03T21:41:26","modified_gmt":"2021-06-04T01:41:26","slug":"victimhood-chic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/victimhood-chic\/","title":{"rendered":"Victimhood Chic: Blaming Others Means More Problems"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What is victimhood chic? How can blaming others for your problems<\/a> create even more problems?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Victimhood chic” is Mark Manson’s term for the trend of playing the victim. Social media heightens this problem by giving people a platform to join the public blame game<\/a>. However, this trend creates a repeating cycle of outrage that undermines productive conversation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Continue reading to learn more about the victimhood chic trend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Victimhood Chic<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Many people are born with disadvantages. They may feel as though they got the short end of the stick and they\u2019re helpless to do anything about it, so they avoid taking responsibility<\/a>. This trend of playing the victim is what the author of The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck <\/em>calls “victimhood chic.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But though it\u2019s not their fault, they\u2019re still responsible \u2014 and choices have impact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, in poker, a player who gets poor cards can still win. The outcome of the game is determined by the players\u2019 choices.<\/strong> It\u2019s the same with life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Example: A group of teens with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) were trying a new therapy. Therapists emphasized that the obsessive thoughts were not the teens\u2019 fault. They encouraged the teens to accept these thoughts, but to choose a value more important than their OCD value (for instance, instead of the value of washing hands repeatedly, it might be getting out of the house more often). With new values in place, desensitization exercises were more effective. The teens learned that while they hadn\u2019t chosen their conditions, they could choose how to respond. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite past tragedies, problems, and bad experiences, we are still responsible for moving on and making choices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perpetual Victims<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

People who follow victimhood chic often try to shift responsibility for solving their problems to others. Blaming someone else creates a feeling of moral rightness, or a high.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Social media help enable this behavior by making it easy to shift responsibility to someone else.<\/strong> People join in a public blame game, sharing injustices to generate sympathy and attention, which rewards those who feel victimized. Moral indignation makes them feel good and they get addicted to the feeling of victimhood chic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are some destructive effects:<\/p>\n\n\n\n