Culture now facilitates outrage. Algorithms reward an outpouring of anger, headlines scream in all caps, and every public figure seems just one viral clip away from cancellation. However, a particular subset of narcissists doesn’t merely endure outrage, they feast on it. These aren’t a garden variety egomaniac, but instead, certain spotlight hungry specimens of narcissists, individuals who have turned controversy into a business model because generating outrage enables them to assert control over an audience because it causes them to react. The narcissist wants the outrage. Some narcissists will regard it as a threat to control, particularly those that operate with a certain facade. But others want that outrage because it signifies control, it provides fuel. Outrage isn’t a side effect of the narcissist’s personality. It is the fuel that propels their false self. At the heart of it lies, of course, the necessity of fuel, that all important currency of external validations that narcissists crave. Many people find receiving some attention rewarding, but there are others that find it neutral or even draining. Nevertheless, for the narcissist, any response of a person is life affirming proof of their centrality. Outrage provides fuel on steroids.
A bland interview might generate polite applause, but a scandalised tweet storm, a tearful victim monologue on a podcast, or a leaked text that sparks global hand wringing? Well, this produces an avalanche of emotional reactions, likes, shares, think pieces, hashtags. And late night monologues. The intensity matters because the outrage is negative fuel, and this is even more potent than praise, for instance, or adoration or admiration, which are all manifestations of pure positive fuel, because negative fuel triggers stronger physiological and social responses and is invariably harder to generate. Being able to cause outrage exhibits the power, true power, of the narcissist. You see, admirers can drift away, but keeping your enemy focused and outraged often means they remain glued, refreshing feeds, waiting for the next point that’s made by this provocative narcissist. Remember, in this example Attention economy, being hated, being the recipient of outrage, is still being witnessed. It’s still being seen. And for someone whose self worth is entirely externalized, being seen is everything. The fact is that what outrage does appeals in two ways. In some instances, the outrage is directed towards the narcissist themselves. And this is where your highly provocative narcissist thrives upon it. They absolutely relish the opportunity to wind people up, to get them foaming at the mouth with their latest controversial observation.
Many narcissists do it instinctively. Others, they don’t believe what they’re writing, but they know the effect that it causes and they relish. Stirring the pot in such a way as to attract that outrage. You’ll be familiar with the narcissists that engage on social media, regularly putting out provocative material because it causes people to engage. Engagement signals control, engagement provides fuel, and engagement can be monetized, which is also a residual benefit. The second aspect to it is that certain narcissists, not your provocative ones all of the time, but for instance, more likely those that fall within the mid range category want your outrage directed at somebody else. So, for example, generally speaking, a lower lesser or an upper lesser A or an upper lesser B and possibly a lower mid range might relish your outrage directed towards them. Certainly, lower greater and upper, greater will find it hugely entertaining to manufacture that outrage. This is where your highly provocative narcissists are to be found. They want the outrage directed at them because your hatred, your bile, your anger, your annoyance is all fantastic fuel and they want it. It doesn’t threaten their need for control because either instinctively or aware the narcissist has sought that outrage to be directed towards them. Individuals such as Andrew Tate, Piers Morgan, Joey Barton are clear instances of those types of narcissists that thrive on generating outrage towards themselves because they want it, it doesn’t threaten their control, and instead it fuels them.
But then there are other narcissists, more likely to be found amongst the mid range constituent part, lower mid range, middle middle range type A, middle middle range type B, and to some extent upper mid range who want the outrage directed elsewhere? In some instances, you may also find that with middle greater and upper greater, whereby they create a shitstorm so that a huge populace is outraged and turn their anger on somebody else. The fact that the narcissist has been able to provoke that reaction accords with control and invariably may well help their facade. I’m a decent person, but look how I’ve been treated. You should be furious at those people for treating me this way. And indeed, many people, followers, supporters are, thus giving the narcissist control over those supporters and causing an attack against their enemies. For some, it’s used in the Political way to drum up support and to attack their political opponents. With others, it’s simply a case of wanting to increase their own popularity whilst attacking somebody else. The fact is that chaos is a form of emotional regulation for the narcissist. The internal emptiness, the inability to feel sustained contentment, is problematic and creating outrage, be it directed at the narcissist themselves or directed at somebody else, fills the void. In this, the narcissist’s life becomes a perpetual soap opera in which they star as the embattled protagonist. Think about how often certain individuals seem to manufacture fresh controversies just as the previous ones fade, a brand launch time to coincide with a leaked feud or a wellness event overshadowed by accusations of diva behavior. This chaos isn’t accidental it’s driven by the narcissism.
It allows those with more overt and grandiose behaviours to spotlight hog. The chaos asserts their dominance. They control the terms of the outrage, leaking texts, framing the story on their podcast, choosing the sympathetic interviewer, and that allows them to dictate reality itself. Once again, social media becomes the plaything and the tool of the narcissist by supercharging this dynamic into an art form. Platforms like X and Instagram and TikTok are engineered for outrage because they drive engagement metrics. And narcissism intuitively grasps this better than most people. A single provocative post can generate millions of impressions overnight, far outpacing any earnest content about charity or personal growth. Certain narcissists don’t just participate in the ecosystem, they master it. They understand the algorithm’s perverse incentive. Nuance dies, extremity thrives. A measured statement about mental health will invariably get ignored. A tear streaked video accusing the institution, or the patriarchy, or the matrix, or the haters of persecution goes nuclear. These narcissists aren’t actually victims of the outrage machine. They are their users of it. They have internalized that in a fragmented attention economy. Being polarizing becomes the closest thing to immortality. Their brand becomes synonymous with the very drama they decry, creating a self reinforcing loop where every new outrage both damages and elevates them. Critics, of course, will identify it as hypocrisy, but the narcissist cannot see this. Ultimately Certain narcissists will thrive upon outrage because it makes the narcissist feel special, either because of the fuel directed towards them or the fact that they can motivate people to send their anger elsewhere. It also means that they, having controlled it, remain blameless. If the narcissist has generated the outrage, they simply don’t see that they are at fault. Instead, they see it as the reaction of lesser beings so easy to wind up. But outrage It’s generated more and more social media, amplifies it and allows the narcissist to get use of it. Furthermore, non narcissists also court controversy to generate outrage in order to get clicks and views, which of course makes it all the easier for the narcissist to thrive in such an environment.