Does dollar-cost averaging protect me during market volatility, or is it overhyped?

It depends on what you mean by dollar-cost averaging. For your regular paycheck contributions, investing a set amount every month automatically is genuinely great: you buy more shares when prices are low and fewer when high, and it removes emotion and the temptation to time the market. That's not a gimmick; it's how most people should invest, and its biggest benefit is behavioral consistency.

Where it's overhyped is as a strategy for a lump sum you already have. Spreading a windfall out over many months has historically underperformed investing it all at once, because markets rise more often than they fall. So the honest answer: dollar-cost averaging is excellent as a habit for ongoing contributions and as emotional insurance for a nervous lump-sum investor, but it's not a superior return strategy for money that's ready to invest now. Its real power is discipline, not market protection.