The APA states that roughly 1 to 2 per cent of the US population has a narcissistic personality disorder, which it defines as “a pervasive pattern of grandiosity (sense of superiority in fantasy or behaviour), need for admiration, and lack of empathy, beginning by early adulthood and occurring in a variety of contexts”.
And even while some of these videos are compiled by legitimate psychologists who want to help victims of narcissistic abuse identify what is happening to them (personality disorders, which include narcissistic personality disorder, are woefully underdiagnosed), the majority are click-hungry charlatans looking for their next viral hit.
Obviously they are a nightmare to date, so it’s understandable why so many social media videos fixate on the “warning signs” that your partner might be a narcissist.
The researchers zoned in on 1,592 individuals who answered questions about narcissism and ostracism in 2015 and found that those with higher narcissism levels reported experiencing significantly more ostracism.
That’s the general consensus on social media, anyway, where even the slightest misgiving – not replying to texts, arriving 10 minutes late, or even, wearing odd socks!
