Tech Translator
What Does NPC Mean When My Kid Says It?
NPC comes from video games and it means non player character, one of the background characters a game controls. When kids use it about a person, they mean someone who seems like they're just going through the motions and not really thinking for themselves.
Where you'd hear it
You'll hear it from around nine up, in games and in person, usually as a joke and sometimes as an insult.
Is it a problem?
This one has an edge worth knowing about. Calling a person an NPC is calling them not fully real, and used at school it can be genuinely mean. It's often harmless and sometimes it isn't.
What to do with it
If you hear it aimed at a specific kid rather than used generally, that's worth a question. Something like, is that somebody at school, and what's going on there.