Annoying social media posts by Kenyans

Social media is all about self-promotion. It seems like the sole purpose of having a social media account nowadays is to tell the world just how cool, rich, unique, and generally awesome you are. Posting on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter is a way to give others a sneak peek into the parts of our lives we want to share.

Social media is crawling with folks who are all too happy to broadcast their accomplishments and their fabulous lives. For the most part, we can’t help ourselves. It’s in our nature. We have all bragged at one time or another. We feel gratified when we share our successes and receive praise for it.

The only problem is that nobody likes a braggart. So, what’s a shallow human being to do? Enter the humble brag. This is where a braggart gets to tell the world how great their life is, then downplays it under the guise of humility or self-deprecating humor.

It allows the offender to boast about their ‘achievements’ without any sense of shame or guilt. I am sure you have seen posts such as, “Just got out of bed, no make-up, hair messed up and guys still hitting on me. Aarrg!” or, “You think they’d offer Dom Perignon in first class. Just some bland whisky. It’s going to be a long flight *sad face emoticon*”

I was once accused of humble bragging on Facebook. I had spilled water on my laptop, a MacBook, and was sincerely devastated because I thought I would lose all my files, not to mention the fact that I was a struggling student who wasn’t prepared for any unplanned expenditure.

Apple products are expensive to repair to start with and liquid damage is not a simple case. I was going to need some serious cash (almost the same amount as getting a new laptop). I needed my laptop for school and work. So yeah, I was traumatized by the whole situation.

 I took to Facebook to express my distress. A few friends extended their sympathies at my misfortune, but one jerk left a comment on my post saying, “You just wanted everyone to know you have a MacBook.”

Wait, what? No! I  had had that thing for months and not once had I ever posted about it, not even a photo of it. So, where did this twat get off saying I wanted everyone to know I had a MacBook? In retrospect though, I can see why he could have seen that as humble bragging.

It turns out people despise false humility and would rather deal with open narcissism. So, stop posting about how awful you look when you are obviously gorgeous, or making a back-handed comment about how life is so hard when you are living life in the fast lane.

Instead of posting, “You think they’d offer Dom Perignon in first class. Just some bland whisky. It’s going to be a long flight *sad face emoticon*”, you are better off posting, “I’m flying first class. Yey me. #Likeaboss.”