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They are narcissists
Some people who refer to themselves in the third person have narcissistic characteristics. Narcissists have an alternate superior ego they create and maintain.
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They want to cope better with stress
According to psychologist Ethan Kross, people who refer to themselves in the third person are better at coping with stress.
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They want to stand out
Most people refer to themselves using ‘I’. Those who want to stand out and be different refer to themselves in the third person.
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They want to protect their ego
By referring to themselves in the third person, some people can avoid saying things such as ‘I made a mistake’. This protects their ego as ‘I’ becomes a ‘larger, untouchable’ entity encompassing the ‘smaller, imperfect’ entity referred to in the third person.
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They want to add weight to whatever they say
Some people talk in the third person in order to add weight to everything they say.
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They want to detach themselves from their limiting ego
Some people refer to themselves in the third person because they don’t want to attach themselves to their ego, which they see as being constraining and limiting. This way they are the puppet master, and the ego is the puppet.
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They don’t want to take responsibility
Some people refer to themselves in the third person because they can say ‘John Johnson made a mistake’ not ‘I’. This way they can escape the responsibility of doing various actions.
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They want more self-control
Some people who refer to themselves in the third person exhibit more self-control.
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They want more self-promotion
Some people who refer to themselves in the third person do it in order to increase their self-promotion and enhance their persona. (See How to Practice Self-Love?)
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They want to impart humility
Some people who refer to themselves in the third person want to impart humility such as in slave/servant-master relationships.
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They want to become immortal
Some people who refer to themselves in the third person wish to live forever. While the body dies, the name will live on forever.
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They are eccentric
Some people who refer to themselves in the third person are eccentrics and use such self-talk as a way of reaching their subconscious goals. (See 14 Reasons Selfishness is One of the Worst Traits)
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They want to have fun
Some people who refer to themselves in the third person do it just for the joke and laugh effect it might have on their company.
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They want to intimidate others
Referring to themselves in the third person is not common, so some people do it in order to make others afraid of them.
Alex Williams
Alex Williams is a PhD student in urban studies and planning. He is broadly interested in the historical geographies of capital, the geopolitical economy of urbanization, environmental and imperial history, critical urban theory, and spatial dialectics.
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