The phrase’s continued growing usage makes it difficult at time to know exactly when it is and isn’t being appropriately used, and for Nick “NMP” Polom’s chat today, it seemed like the only thing anyone could agree on was that the act of “gaslighting” was a bad thing.
The term “gaslight” as a verb comes from the 1944 film of the same name. In the black-and-white piece of cinematography, a man convinces his wife that she isn’t mentally well, and he leverages that effort to steal from her.
The phrase started to see increased exposure in the 2010s, and it is now defined by the Oxford Dictionary as “manipulate (someone) by psychological means into questioning their own sanity.”
With the term being so negatively charged, Polom claimed this morning that many people don’t use the phrase correctly.
“I swear they’re just not using it right, you know?” he said.
He then read an explanation of the word that mentioned how an “abuser” looks to “sow self-doubt” into “victims.” Just as he finished reading the explanation a donation with text-to-speech came through with a short yet powerful message, “sounds like you.”
“So you’re essentially calling me an ‘abuser’ and that you’re a victim,” he said. “I think it’s the other way around.”
Polom began to then tell his viewers that he finds that his viewers are really the ones trying to manipulate him into thinking he’s mentally unwell.
Reading another definition for the term, he went on to add that truthfully, the phrase is used way too much, and jokes aside, it is regularly not used the way that it’s meant to be used.
“This is never happening in the way that people are using it, I swear bro,” he said. “This is such an extreme term that’s used so frivolously. If anything, I feel like you guys are gaslighting me.”
