Living an NPC life
A few years ago, it was fashionable among the youth, including my son, to refer to people as "NPCs" or "Non-Player Characters". As Wikipedia explains:
A non-player character (NPC) is a character in a game that is not controlled by a player. The term originated in traditional tabletop role-playing games where it applies to characters controlled by the gamemaster, or referee, rather than by another player. In video games, this term usually means a computer-controlled character that has a predetermined set of behaviors that potentially will impact gameplay.
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From around 2018, the term NPC became an insult, primarily online, to suggest that a person is unable to form thoughts or opinions of their own.
I was intrigued, therefore, by a post, annoyingly uncapitalised, in which the author admits to desiring an NPC kind of existence. However, it all made sense when I read it:
the general consensus around being an npc is that you’re giving up your autonomy—essentially becoming a side character in someone else's story or watching life pass you by while doomscrolling on your phone.
but here’s my take: the npc lifestyle is actually a very viable way to live.
as an npc, you aren't actually watching other people’s lives. even in a game, if you're an npc, you are doing your own thing regardless of how anyone else behaves in the world. you are entirely unfazed by everything happening around you. it might sound a bit extreme, but at some level, it’s the ultimate "i don't give a fuck" state of mind.
take an npc blacksmith in skyrim, for example. do they care whether or not you slay dragons? no. do they care if you come in and steal all their shit because you pickpocketed them? no way. what do they do? they just keep living their life as a blacksmith—and they’re good at it to whatever level they’re supposed to be, whether they're a master craftsman or the shitty apprentice in the starting town. they do their thing regardless of what you do in the world.
maybe the secret to living—or maybe this is just a retelling of stoicism and endless levels of historical philosophy—is that the goal is to just do your own thing.
Since social networks became mainstream about 15 years ago, we're suffering from a collective case of main character syndrome. The upshot of this is a general lack of empathy, I think.
Source: Original article · Are.na block · Vibes channel