NPC
what it means
Borrowed from gaming, where NPCs run on scripts. Calling someone an NPC says their opinions are borrowed and their behaviour is predictable.
Non-Player Character — someone who seems to have no independent thoughts and just repeats what they're told.
the origin story
A gaming term from tabletop and video games; the insult sense spread through imageboards in 2016 and hit the mainstream by 2018.
It picked up political baggage during its imageboard phase, then broadened considerably. A second wave came with TikTok's 2023 "NPC streaming" trend, where creators performed robotic loops for tips — which turned the insult into a performance genre.
in the wild
He says "living the dream" every single Monday.
Complete NPC dialogue.
Everyone in the queue was staring at their phone identically.
NPC energy.
how to use it
- Joking about predictable, scripted-seeming behaviour
- Gaming contexts, in the literal sense
- Discussing internet culture
- As a way to dismiss people you disagree with politically
- About individuals in a demeaning way
- Professionally
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