Action figure trends on social media

The question reaches me via Signal whether I have already tried this trend of using an image AI to create an action figure of myself. In fact, I had already made some initial attempts. While crafting my own figure, I noticed that I actually wouldn't feel like sharing the doll-like image of myself on social media. So, in this post, I present some reflections that should guide us. Behind the playful surface hide complex psychological mechanisms concerning identity formation, sense of community, and our handling of the increasingly digitized self.

What is the trend about?

Anyone who dealt with the circulated prompt might have noticed how confronting it can be to reduce oneself to an object. The step is relatively easier than then specifying three accessories. Ideally, they appear next to the personal image in the blister package.

Currently, a trend is spreading on social media where people use image AI generators to create action figure versions of themselves. These figures are presented in the style of classic toy packaging, complete with a blister package and personal accessories. Users can select three characteristic accessories that reflect their personality or interests. These digital creations are then shared on various social media platforms, where they entertain and provoke discussions.

The trend was picked up in advance by numerous industry players in the lead-up to this week's DMEA – Connecting Digital Health Conference in Berlin.

The LinkedIn stream is currently flooded with colorful figures. This form of self-presentation as an action figure on social media is a multifaceted phenomenon that reflects various psychological and sociological factors.

Prompt for the action figure

The following prompt was tested with ChatGPT 4o (new version with image generation in the Pro account) and Sora from OpenAI, leading to the above result.

Action figure of [your name] in a blister package, [Limited] Edition. The figure is a miniature model of a modern personality. It wears [e.g., hoodie, suit, sneakers, etc.]. Three accessories: (1) [e.g., coffee mug], (2) [e.g., laptop], (3) [e.g., teddy bear]. Package labeled‚ [your name] – [slogan, claim, or quote]. Background [in your favorite color], stylish 3D look like a product shoot.

The Sunshine Child of Nostalgia

The healthy and life-affirming part of our personality quite obviously demands expression. Spring brings with it an imperative for colors, wanting to playfully overcome the awakening after the long winter and congress-free time.

The term »Sunshine Child« was coined by psychotherapist Stefanie Stahl and represents the part of us that embodies joy, vitality, and self-confidence. In contrast to the »Shadow Child,« which is influenced by fears and negative experiences, the Sunshine Child stands for positive traits and resources. The DMEA thus seems to be a cause for hope. At a time when a new government is emerging. The keynote by Karl Lauterbach is expected to sound executive, although it has not yet leaked who will succeed him or if he might remain.

Regarding the action figure trend, one could say that the playful portrayal of the self as an action figure is a manifestation of the Sunshine Child – an expression of creativity, lightness, and the ability not to take oneself too seriously. The colorful, playful representations allow us to show and celebrate this positive part of our personality. Understandably, if one uses the new possibilities of generative AI not only to knit a banner into the profile picture but to document a clear commitment to belonging.

I do not wish to overinterpret the reduction of one's personality to a toy at this point. However, it could also be understood as a form of regression, an unconscious retreat into a more comfortable, less complex phase of life. When the digitalization in healthcare does not progress at the desired pace, parody helps. Many people associate positive childhood memories with action figures. An attempt to relive that carefree time and give space to the »inner child.«

Self-presentation in digital spaces has long become a central aspect of identity formation. The AI-generated action figure represents an interesting evolution. While earlier forms of self-presentation on social networks often aimed at optimization and ideal images, here a novel approach of representation is evident.

Identity

Perhaps the action figure is not only an image of the self but also a stylized version that stands out from traditional portraits or avatars. Individuality is emphasized by the unique design of the figure. Like at a barcamp, the accessories symbolize the memories of the messages with which a personality surrounds itself. In the run-up to the DMEA, these are accessories intended to clarify one's role in the discourse of changing health markets.

The cheeky staging as an action figure can signal an ironic distance from self-presentation in social media. It is a game with the superficiality and optimization craze that often prevails there. Even on LinkedIn, most users share personal achievements. They report on the successes of their own projects. Everything often seems a bit too self-centered. The community accepts this, and one experiences a kind of ticker of vanity, which also remains a news feed.

The »flirting« with the action figure is thus a form of understatement; a subtle way to downplay one's own significance and thus protect oneself from criticism. Already soon, one meets again in real life. Everyone deliberately refrains from the often-exaggerated self-optimization for a moment in favor of a stylized, playful reduction of their own personality.

Donald Winnicott's psychoanalytic concept of the »false self« offers an interesting interpretive framework for this phenomenon. The false self develops as a protection for the true self and enables »healthy people to conform to societal norms.« In a professional world that demands constant adaptation, the action figure could paradoxically enable a more authentic form of expression than usual professional self-presentations.

Winnicott also originated the theory of the transitional object. Children who leave the home environment to regularly attend kindergarten often cling to objects associated with the security of the home environment. Security blankets and also the favorite doll or teddy bear maintain the important connection to the beloved place. If the toy does not disappear, I always have my refuge at hand. I assume something similar for adults, Norbert Bolz said many years ago, when in difficult times they no longer leave the house without their smartphone, occasionally stroking it.

The avatar as an icon of one's own self travels ahead with the help of the smartphone and announces its arrival at the DMEA. Almost sounds like a logical consequence of this theory.

Dealing with Avatars

An avatar – originally a term from Sanskrit for the incarnation of a deity in physical form – today refers to the digital representation of a user in virtual worlds. The action figure can be understood as a form of the avatar, mediating between digital and physical worlds.

Interestingly, studies from the University of Cologne show that most people have a restrained tendency to present themselves as avatars differently from how they actually are. In hardcore influencer circles, this might be different. Nevertheless, some tend to assign idealized psychological attributes to their own virtual image. This might explain why the currently circulating action figures, while not appearing heroic externally, still receive an enhancement through their presentation in a collector's package with a personal label.

Applied to the digital phenomenon, this could mean that only an environment accepting of playfulness and imperfection enables authenticity. The action figure as a consciously artificial, yet personal self-image could be understood as an attempt to mediate between these two aspects of the self – it is neither completely »false« nor entirely »true,« but exists in a creative in-between space.

Community and Belonging

The term digital tribalism coined by Michael Seemann describes how digital tribes form on the internet, conveying a strong sense of belonging. The action figure trend in the context of an industry trade show exemplifies how such tribal formations work.

Tribalism is based on a fundamental human need. People tend to define their position as individuals always in relation to a peer group. This is especially relevant in a time when social media paradoxically fosters both networking and isolation.

Participation in the action figure trend can be understood as a ritualized action signaling belonging to the »tribe.« Although social media is often criticized as individualistic, it can also contribute to the formation of communities. The action figure trend can be seen as a form of group belonging. I would call it a »tribalistic hustle.« Participating in this trend signals to others that one is, or wants to be, part of a certain group. Sharing similar interests or values has not become any less modern. On the contrary. Belonging to a community can satisfy a fundamental human need.

Coping with Uncertainty

The start of the congress year 2025 is marked by uncertainty and change. Essentially nothing new for healthcare stakeholders. The playful self-presentation as an action figure can be a way to gain control over one's own image. Designing one's figure allows for self-presentation in an idealized and manageable form. The reduction of one's personality to a simple, toy-like form can also serve as a coping strategy to deal with the complexity and challenges of real challenges in healthcare. I admit, that might sound like too much pop psychology to some. Let's leave it at that.

Just this: It is undeniable that the trend also has narcissistic traits. The self-presentation as a harmless action figure is a form of self-staging where the individual remains at the center. The sentence »I was here,« which nobody ever wrote on a toilet door, is replaced by the announcement »I will be there.«

This narcissism does not always have to be negative. To some extent, it can also express healthy self-esteem and the desire for recognition. In this sense.

The Action Figure as a Metaphor of Commodification

The portrayal as an action figure in a professional context raises interesting questions about the commodification of one's labor power. Marx spoke of workers having to »peddle their skin« (back then). People consciously package themselves in blisters as consumable goods in the form of toy figures. This seemingly paradoxical development reflects the transformation of the working world.

In the context of New Work, where personal branding and self-marketing are central elements of professional success, the action figure appears as a contemporary metaphor: It embodies individuality and standardization, authenticity and artificiality simultaneously. The »packaging« of one's own person as a consumer good is no longer perceived as alienation but celebrated as a creative form of self-empowerment. Fortunately, the figures currently do not tend toward the vulgar form of the superhuman in a Superman costume.

The dialectic remains nonetheless. The playful self-objectification as an action figure could be understood as a strategy to dissolve the tension between economic necessity and personal autonomy. By presenting oneself as a »collectible,« the threat of commodifying one's own time in work is defused and transformed into an act of self-determination.

Conclusion

The trend of representing oneself as an action figure is more than just a fleeting internet phenomenon. It reflects fundamental psychological needs for belonging, authentic self-presentation, and playful identity work.

In an industry that has struggled for years with resource shortages and digitalization fears, this trend functions as a community-building ritual. It allows for the demonstration of mastering new technologies (AI image generation) as well as taking an ironic distance from them. The action figure becomes a symbol for the ambivalence towards one's professional identity – it is simultaneously affirmed and playfully questioned.

The use of advanced technology to create a deliberately simplified, childlike image embodies the contradiction of an industry navigating between innovation and tradition, between seriousness and play, between individual expression and community affiliation.

In this sense, the AI-generated action figure is a complex psychological symbol embodying the tensions and desires of our digital existence – a playful solution for the serious questions of identity, authenticity, and community in an increasingly fragmented digital world.

The Future of Digital Self-Presentation

The development of such trends illustrates that we are in a phase of experimenting with digital identities. After an era of excessive self-staging, we might, as media psychologist Sabine Trepte suggests,...

...enter an era of authenticity. 

The action figure portrayal could be an indication of this development.

All of this is part of a long cultural tradition of self-presentation that can be considered an anthropological constant. Self-presentation today merely utilizes the means of its time to express a timeless human need – the desire to be seen, understood, and accepted as part of a community.