THE NOT SO HUMBLE HUMBLEBRAG!

Janice Tovey
2 min readNov 26, 2021

The Art of False Modesty

Courtesy of UpSplash hulki-okan-tabak

The definition of the word humblebrag from Oxford Languages.

NOUN: An ostensibly modest or self-deprecating statement whose actual purpose it so draw attention to something of which one is proud.

Social media updates have been defined as basically being humblebrags, selfies and rants.

Here is an example: The woman humblebragged about how terrible she looks without makeup.

People want to show of their achievements. This is normal. And in doing so they do not want to appear conceited so they self-deprecate. In most instances, people see right through the humblebrag.

Humblebragging is basically when you sugar coat your brag in false humility or a complaint.

People would rather hear honest boasting. Most people hate humblebragging!

Humblebraggers are less likely to be trusted.

Here is another humblebrag:

Hair is not done, I just rolled out of bed from a long nap and I still get hit on. It is so confusing.

Graduating from 2 universities means you get double the calls requesting money and donations. People are so pushy and annoying.

Here are three humblebrag alternatives:

Talk about your accomplishments in an authentic way

Tell the story behind your success. The steps it took you to get there.

Practice thankfulness and gratitude.

The Lesson Learned:

We all want to showcase our achievements and straightforward bragging with a little context is much more palatable then humblebragging.

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Janice Tovey

My passion is writing. I also love reading, teaching, animals, nature, music, and humor. I am curious about everything and enjoy writing about all things.