The spotlight effect is the tendency to overestimate how much other people notice and evaluate your appearance, behavior, and mistakes.

The Classic Study

Cornell researchers had participants wear an embarrassing Barry Manilow T-shirt to a room of other students. Wearers estimated about 50% of people noticed the shirt. In reality, only about 25% did.

Why We Overestimate

You are the center of your own experience. Your outfit, your stumble, your awkward comment — these loom enormous from the inside. Other people are too busy attending to their own spotlight to focus on yours.

Consequences

• Social anxiety and avoidance fueled by imagined scrutiny
• Reluctance to speak in meetings for fear of judgment
• Excessive post-event rumination over minor social missteps
• Holding back from creative or public expression

Liberation

People are not watching you nearly as closely as you think. Most "embarrassing" moments are forgotten by others within minutes.

Reference:

Wikipedia: Spotlight Effect

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spotlight_effect