Not everyone yearns to have 15 minutes of fame.
Robert McCoy, who took the TikTok world by storm as the "Couch Guy," recently opened up about becoming the subject of controversy and an online meme. In a detailed essay for Slate that was published on Dec. 6, the college student candidly expressed that he felt like his life was "obsessively invaded" over the social media debacle.
For a refresher: In September, Robert's girlfriend Lauren posted a 19-second video of herself surprising her boyfriend at college. "Robbie had no idea," she captioned the short clip, alongside footage that captured her walking into his apartment with a backpack and luggage in hand.
Robert, who was sitting on a couch with three other girls, looked surprised to see Lauren enter the room. He slowly stood up to wrap his arms around her and flashed a wide smile.
However, it didn't take long for internet users to analyze every frame of the video, including Robert's reaction, his body language and more.
According to Robert, being the center of attention on social media is not all that's it's cracked up to be.
Soon, the "comments accusing me of infidelity rolled in," he said, adding that the three women sitting next to him in the video were simply "friends who happened to be of the opposite sex."
"While the Couch Guy meme was lighthearted on its surface," he wrote, "it turned menacing as TikTok users obsessively invaded the lives of Lauren, our friends, and me—people with no previous desire for internet fame, let alone infamy."
He continued, "During my tenure as Couch Guy, I was the subject of frame-by-frame body language analyses, armchair diagnoses of psychopathy, comparisons to convicted murderers, and general discussions about my 'bad vibes.'"
Robert explained that people went as far as trying to uncover personal details about his identity, including his "name, birthdate and place of residence," adding "the threat of doxxing loomed over my head."
In real life, he said that people also began to bother him at his home.
He recalled, "For instance, when a resident in my apartment building posted a TikTok video, which accumulated 2.3 million views, of himself slipping a note under my door to request an interview. (I did not respond.) One viewer gleefully commented, 'Even if this guy turned off his phone, he can't escape the couch guy notifications.'"
"Exacerbating these invasions of my privacy was the tabloid-style media coverage that I received," he shared, explaining that it made "me, a private citizen who had previously enjoyed his minimal internet presence, an unwilling recipient of the celebrity treatment."
@laurenzarras robbie had no idea
? still falling for you - audiobear
Although Robert said "my memedom has died down," he admitted that he still gets approached by people.
"I have come to tolerate looks of vague recognition and occasional selfie requests from strangers in public," he shared. "And my digital scarlet letter has not carried much weight offline, given that Lauren and the other co-stars of the now-infamous video know my true character."
He added, "My anxiety rests only in the prospect that the invasive TikTok sleuthing I experienced was not an isolated instance."
Robert believes that TikTok's algorithm only added more fuel to the fire by recommending videos based on Lauren's original post. As he explained, "I found myself scrolling through countless tweets bemoaning the inescapability of 'Couch Guy TikTok.'"
While he understands that there will be another viral moment on the video-sharing app and a possible new "Couch Guy," he left readers with an important message: "I implore you to remember that they are people, not mysteries for you to solve."