"I feel like everyone's watching me."
Sora said quietly in the corner of the library.
Hiyori gently asked. "What happened?"
"I just stumbled on the stairs. I'm sure everyone's laughing."
Leo looked up from his book. "That might be the spotlight effect."
"Spotlight effect?"
"A psychological phenomenon of overestimating how much you're being noticed," Leo explained. "Actually, nobody cares that much."
Mira wrote in her notebook. "People are busy with themselves"
"Yes," Hiyori nodded. "Psychology research shows people aren't as noticed by others as they think."
Sora thought. "But I really felt like I was being watched."
"That's not an illusion," Leo said. "But you're overestimating the degree and duration of attention."
Hiyori supplemented. "For example, even if someone glanced for a moment, they'll forget right away. But you keep remembering and assume everyone else remembers too."
Sora felt a bit relieved. "Really?"
Mira wrote. "Your failure is important to you. To others, just one piece of information"
"Good perspective," Leo acknowledged. "Cognitive resources are limited. People don't have capacity to remember others' details."
Sora asked. "Then why do I care so much?"
Hiyori answered. "It's related to self-consciousness. Especially people with high public self-consciousness tend to care about others' evaluations."
"Public self-consciousness?"
"Being aware of yourself from others' perspectives," Hiyori explained. "It increases when you look in a mirror or appear before people."
Leo supplemented. "From evolutionary psychology, it was an adaptive function to avoid group exclusion."
"But in modern times, it easily becomes excessive," Hiyori continued. "Because there are environments like social media where you're constantly evaluated."
Sora nodded. "Social media, I definitely care about that."
Mira wrote. "Worrying about number of likes"
"Same mechanism," Leo said. "Instinct seeking social approval."
Hiyori asked. "Sora, how many people do you think saw you stumble on the stairs?"
"About 10...?"
"Actually?"
Sora recalled. "Maybe 2 or 3."
"And do you think those people still remember?"
"Probably... they don't," Sora realized.
Leo smiled. "That's a typical example of the spotlight effect."
Mira wrote. "Thinking too much you're the main character"
Hiyori said gently. "Not in a bad way, it's a natural human tendency."
Sora asked. "How can I stop caring?"
"You can't completely stop caring," Hiyori answered honestly. "But you can correct to a realistic assessment."
Leo suggested. "Want to experiment? Tomorrow, make some small mistake and check how much people actually remember."
Sora laughed. "Deliberately fail?"
"A method used in psychology research too," Leo said. "Face the object of fear and confirm the gap between expectation and reality."
Hiyori supplemented. "But within reasonable limits."
Mira wrote. "I stumble on stairs often. Nobody remembers"
Sora was surprised. "You too, Mira?"
Mira nodded. "Embarrassing, but quickly forgotten"
"Everyone's the same," Sora felt reassured.
Hiyori smiled. "People aren't as interested in others as you think. That's a bit lonely, but also liberating."
Leo closed his book. "The spotlight is actually smaller than you think, and goes out quickly."
Sora summarized in her notebook. "Others' gazes aren't as strong as I think"
Mira wrote lastly. "So we can live freely"
The four smiled quietly. Even moments when others' gazes matter might be an illusion of the mind.