Almost all the posts on social media today are solely aimed at promoting news about the person posting the message.
Years ago our parents, our teachers and generally anyone who had any remote concern about our upbringing, would constantly extol the virtue of humility. The importance of this virtue has been constantly eroded in the online world and especially in so far as social media is concerned.
Many of the present users of the net are children of people who were part of the post-recession boom in America and who firmly believed in America as the land of opportunity. These users have been advised by their parents that they could be whatever they wanted to be in life and that life threw up numerous opportunities as long as you dared to try. However with a huge addition of young people to the workforce and the market unable to find gainful opportunities to absorb all, it is imperative for every person to find ways of standing out.
This is the primary reason we are inclined towards the social media. Once there, we just run wild like school boys at the end of the day. We begin the endless journey of self promotion without a care about who the message goes out to. All things about us make news whether its educational success, a raise or promotion at work, a personal milestone, etc.
Often people use what can only be termed as the paradoxical ‘humble brag’. People in an apparent display of humility are actually telling you something about themselves that they want to boast about.
People have moved past the humble brag and just go on ahead and brag – a straightforward, brazen brag. Many from the audience tend to prefer the direct brag approach which is regarded as an honest statement rather than the sneaky approach of the humble brag.
The bragging employed on social media fits well in that community but can be quite inappropriate, bordering on gross when used elsewhere. It is like revealing intimate talks in public. Whenever anyone uploads messages of self praise on the social media, they expect it to stay there among many other such messages. Being in similar company ensures that the message does not stick out like a sore thumb.
Posting personal messages can have its benefits. Posting messages about intended projects lets you brag about your current endeavors. More importantly it prods the person making such an announcement to complete the projects (and brag about it!) People want people to know them as achievers and succeeding in life.
Is it so important to let people know of your small and not so small successes in life? The answer to the question seems to be an overwhelming ‘yes’, because self promotion works nearly as well as any other means of promotion.
After all when you are personally invited to attend a function, exhibition, movie etc. you will be more likely to go.
Users of Facebook have mastered the art of self promotion after realizing that is really beneficial. In may be considered to be awful by the traditionalists but at the same time it is an honest expression of the deepest feelings of the user. They all express the same thought ‘I am proud of myself’.