Action Figure Trends on Social Media

I received a question via Signal asking whether I had already tried out this trend of using an AI image generator to create an action figure of myself. In fact, I had already made some initial attempts. While crafting my own figure, I realized that I actually wouldn't want to share the puppet-like image of myself on social media. Therefore, in this post, I am making some considerations aimed at uncovering what lies behind. Beneath the playful surface, there are complex psychological mechanisms concerning identity formation, sense of community, and our interaction with the increasingly digitalized self.

What is this trend about?

Anyone who engaged with the prompt circulated will have noticed how confrontational it can be to reduce oneself to an object. The step is relatively easier than then specifying three accessory items. Ideally, they appear alongside the personal image in the blister pack.

Currently, a trend is spreading on social media where people create versions of themselves as action figures using AI image generators. These figures are depicted in the style of classic toy packaging, complete with blister pack and personal accessories. Users can choose three characteristic accessories that reflect their personality or interests. These digital creations are then shared on various social media platforms, where they provide entertainment and prompt discussions.

The trend was picked up ahead of this week’s DMEA – Connecting Digital Health Conference in Berlin by numerous industry players.

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

Prompt to the Action Figure

The following prompt was tried 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 pack, [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]. Packaging with the inscription '[your name] – [slogan, claim or quote]. Background [in your favorite color], stylish 3D look as in product shooting.

The Sunshine Kid of Nostalgia

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

The term “sunshine kid” was coined by psychotherapist Stefanie Stahl and represents the part in us that embodies joy, vitality, and self-confidence. In contrast to the “shadow child,” which is characterized by fears and negative experiences, the sunshine kid stands for positive qualities and resources. Hence, the DMEA seems to be an occasion for hope. At a time when a new government is announced. The keynote by Karl Lauterbach will likely sound managerial, although it has not yet surfaced who will follow him or whether he might stay.

Regarding the action figure trend, one could say that the playful portrayal of oneself as an action figure is a manifestation of the sunshine kid — an expression of creativity, lightheartedness, and the ability not to take oneself too seriously. The colorful, playful depictions allow us to show and celebrate this positive part of our personality. It's understandable to utilize new possibilities of generative AI not only to embroider a banderole into the profile picture but to document a clear commitment to belonging.

I don't wish to overinterpret the reduction of one's personality to a toy at this juncture. However, this could also be understood as a form of regression, an unconscious retreat into a more comfortable, less complex phase of life. When progress in digitizing healthcare does not proceed at the desired pace, parody helps. Many people associate action figures with positive childhood memories. An attempt to revive this carefree time and give space to the “inner child.”

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

Identity

Perhaps the action figure is not just a depiction of the self but also a stylized version that stands out from traditional portraits or avatars. Individuality is emphasized through the unique design of the figure. Like at a barcamp, the accessories symbolize the messages with which a personality surrounds itself. In advance of the DMEA, they are accessories meant to clarify one's role in the discourse of changing healthcare markets.

The tongue-in-cheek portrayal as an action figure can signal an ironic distance from self-presentation on social media. It's a play with superficiality and the obsession with optimization that often prevails there. Even on LinkedIn, most users share personal achievements. They report on the successes of their own project. Everything often seems overly self-involved. The community accepts this, experiencing a kind of vanity ticker that remains as a news feed.

Thus, “flirting” with the action figure is a form of understatement; a subtle way to downplay one’s significance and protect oneself from criticism. Soon, people encounter one another in real life. Everyone consciously pauses for a moment from the often overblown self-optimization 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 protection for the true self and enables “healthy individuals to display conforming behavior.” In a professional world that demands constant adaptation, the action figure might paradoxically allow a more authentic form of expression than conventional professional self-presentations.

Winnicott also proposed the theory of transitional objects. Children who leave the home environment to regularly attend kindergarten often cling to objects associated with the security of the home environment. Snuggle blankets and even the favorite doll or teddy bear maintain that important connection to the beloved place. If the toy doesn’t disappear, I always have my refuge at hand. Years ago, Norbert Bolz suggested similar behavior in adults during difficult times, when they no longer leave home without their smartphone, occasionally caressing it.

The avatar as an icon of one's own self, in a way, travels forward with the help of the smartphone, announcing its arrival at the DMEA. It 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 the digital and physical world.

Interestingly, studies from the University of Cologne show that most people tend to portray themselves as avatars similar to how they truly are. In hardcore influencer circles, this might differ. Nevertheless, some tend to assign idealized psychological attributes to their virtual representation. This may explain why the action figures currently circulating don’t appear heroic outwardly, but through their presentation in a collector's packaging with a personal label, they nonetheless receive an enhancement.

Applied to the digital phenomenon, this could mean that only an environment that accepts playful and imperfect aspects enables authenticity. The action figure, as a deliberately artificial yet personal self-image, can be seen as an attempt to bridge these two aspects of the self — it is neither completely “false” nor entirely “true,” but exists in a creative intermediate space.

Community and Belonging

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

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

Participating in the action figure trend can be understood as a ritualized action that signals belonging to the “tribe.” Although social media is often criticized for being individualistic, it can also contribute to the formation of communities. The action figure trend can be seen as a kind of group affiliation. I'd call it “tribalistic activity.” Participation in this trend signals to others that one is or wants to be part of a specific 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 departure in the congress year 2025 is marked by uncertainty and change. Actually, nothing new for healthcare stakeholders. The playful self-representation as an action figure can be a way to gain control over one's image. Designing one's own figure allows oneself to be presented in an idealized and manageable form. Reducing 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 this may sound like too much armchair psychology to some. Let’s leave it at that.

One more thing: It is undeniable that the trend also bears narcissistic traits. The self-presentation as a harmless action figure is a form of self-staging, where the individual remains at the center. The phrase “I was here,” which nobody has ever not written on a restroom door, is replaced with the announcement “I will be there.”

This narcissism does not always have to be negative. To a certain extent, it can also be an expression of a healthy sense of self-worth and the desire for recognition. In this sense.

Action Figure as a Metaphor of Commodification

Portraying oneself as an action figure in the professional context raises interesting questions about the commodification of one's labor. Marx spoke of the worker (back then) having to “take his skin to market.” People deliberately staging themselves in a blister as consumable goods in the form of toy figures reflect this seemingly paradoxical development mirrors 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 both individuality and standardization, authenticity and artificiality. The “packaging” of one's person as a consumer good is no longer perceived as alienation, but instead celebrates as a creative form of self-empowerment. Fortunately, the figures are not currently tending towards the vulgar form of the Übermensch in a superhero costume.

The dialectic remains nonetheless. The playful self-objectification as an action figure could be understood as a strategy to resolve the tension between economic necessity and personal autonomy. By staging oneself as a “collector’s item,” one removes the threat from the commodification of one's time in work and transforms it into an act of self-determination.

Conclusion

The trend of having oneself depicted 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 been struggling with resource scarcity and digitization fears for years, this trend functions as a community-building ritual. It allows demonstrating mastery of new technologies (AI image generation) as well as maintaining an ironic distance from them. The action figure becomes a symbol for the ambivalence towards one's professional identity — it is both affirmed and playfully questioned.

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

In this sense, the AI-generated action figure is a complex psychological symbol that embodies the tensions and desires of our digital existence — a playful solution to 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 highlights 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 speculates, …

… enter an era of authenticity. 

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

All 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 give expression to a timeless human need — the desire to be seen, understood, and accepted as part of a community.