The people you described may be a product of the culture and the times, and could be described by the word "narcissist" used as an ordinary adjective instead of the name of a mental disorder. But there's a big difference between people being rude and oblivious and those who have a genuine mental illness.
I have a relative who has NPD; it is extremely difficult to spend any length of time around her. The belief that she is and should be the center of everyone's attention and her constant manipulation of people to ensure that they remain fixated on her at all times is stressful and exhausting.
Apparently, some experts in the mental health field aren't happy with the decision to remove NPD from the DSM. Perhaps they will prevail upon the task force to reverse their decision.
Arggh, that linked page takes a long time to load. I wish I knew how to make links that open in other windows!