Humblebrag
My wallet's too small for my fifties and my diamond shoes are too tight! How embarrassing!
humblebrag
HUM-bull-brag
noun, verb
(n.) An ostensibly self-effacing statement whose actual purpose is to draw attention to something of which one if proud
(v.) To make such a statement
I don’t know how many of you are regular users of LinkedIn, but I loathe the platform with a vengeance, chiefly because it is full or humblebraggarts and people who make up profound things their children have said. A particularly egregious combination of both that lives rent-free in my head:
‘My daughter and I were having lunch in a café outside, and two women walked past having a conversation about a meeting with the CEO. My daughter looked at me and said “Are those women talking about you, Mummy?” “No,” I replied, “lots of women are CEOs these days.”’
Etymologically, the word ‘humblebrag’ isn’t hugely interesting, being as it is a portmanteau of ‘humble’ and ‘brag’. It is widely credited as being the creation of Harris Wittels, a writer and producer for the TV show Parks and Recreation who created a twitter account called @Humblebrag in 2010 where he collected examples of the phenomenon, usually from celebrities.
Psychologically the phenomenon is much more interesting. It is a particularly online phenomenon, as social media has allowed for a greater curation of personal image than is often possible in real life. Like a lot of social media behaviour, humblebragging is motivated by the desire for approval and admiration from others, but unlike ‘pure’ bragging, people couch their boasts in humility in an attempt to avoid being seen as boastful.
Humblebragging is a dangerous game, however. Most people can see straight through it for what it really is: an insincere attempt to manipulate other people into praise. Research suggests that this results in a more negative opinion of the humblebraggart (as they are known) than if they had simply boasted outright.
Which of course reminds me of the time my son (Tarquinius Wolfgang, 53 months) ran up to me at the playground and said 'Daddy, did you know that a lie is a mask worn by truth, but bullshit is a costume donned by emptiness?'