Narcissists love to gossip, the reasons for this are as follows:
- It reinforces their notion of their own superiority
- It provides a semblance of intimacy, they “share” other people’s secrets, not their own, so it creates a mask of trust, without exposing themselves in any way.
- It creates drama and often division of friends and family, which in turn gives them more excitement.
- Attacking/ruining the reputation of others diminishes that person in their eyes “buoys” up their own ego.
- Any consequences of the gossip that they spread makes them feel “powerful”/important
- They will pepper their gossip about other people with half-truths that will render their lies plausible
- They will hint at things without actually saying something outright, hoping that you will take the bait. They will feel that they have a safety net in place and will be in a position to deny everything if it backfires