Dostoevsky's "The Double" on narcisism

The book aptly explains the experiential anxieties of modern social media. Dostoevsky, writing in 1846, was dealing with a more urbanized society, which increased the numbers of social encounters, just like the Internet today. Yet he saw people lonely, paranoid & vain, isolated by their imaginary selves.

The main character, Golyadkin, meets his double, who looks like him but is better than him in all social interactions. What starts with a form of cheating, turns into paranoia as the double makes Golyadkin feel both as an impostor while also making him left out. Impostor syndrome&FOMO.