It wasn’t long ago that “narcissism” was a term reserved for psychology classes and clinical discussions. But now, it’s everywhere—plastered across Instagram captions, embedded in tweet threads, dissected on podcasts, and casually tossed into arguments between friends.
The word has been dragged out of the DSM and turned into a pop culture buzzword, applied to everyone from ex-boyfriends to celebrities to the woman who dared to take a selfie on the subway. And while there’s nothing wrong with learning about psychological concepts, the way the internet has latched onto narcissism is becoming less about education and more about judgment, projection, and an obsession with labeling.
