{{Short description|Boasting via false modesty}} {{italic title}} '''Humblebragging''' is the behavior of boasting under the pretenses of a complaint or modesty. The term was coined by comedian Harris Wittels. thumb|Drawing of a man humblebragging about his classic car
==History== The term humblebrag was first used in 2010 by Harris Wittels as the name of his Twitter account, @Humblebrag, where he would retweet posts he considered to be humblebrags.<ref name="Verge">{{cite web | url=https://www.theverge.com/2015/2/19/8073107/harris-wittels-parks-and-rec-humblebrag-dies-at-30 | title=Harris Wittels, Parks and Rec writer who coined 'humblebrag,' dies at 30 | date=20 February 2015 }}</ref><ref name=NYT>{{cite web | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/02/fashion/bah-humblebrag-the-unfortunate-rise-of-false-humility.html | title=If I do Humblebrag So Myself | work=The New York Times | date=30 November 2012 | last1=Alford | first1=Henry }}</ref> The posts was later developed into a Grantland column.<ref name="LA" >{{cite web | url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/showtracker/la-et-st-harris-wittels-dies-the-man-behind-humblebrag-20150220-story.html | title=Harris Wittels: The man behind #humblebrag | website=Los Angeles Times | date=20 February 2015 }}</ref> In 2012, he published a book about the concept, ''Humblebrag: The Art of False Modesty''.<ref name=Verge /><ref>{{cite web |last1=Noriega |first1=Margarita |title=Harvard Business School study proves the humblebrag is a useless waste of time |date=22 May 2015 |url=https://www.vox.com/2015/5/22/8646481/humblebrag-HBS-study |publisher=Vox |access-date=30 April 2025}}</ref> The popularity of the word led the American Dialect Society to proclaim it their most useful Word of the Year for 2011.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Tarpley |first=Mallary Tenore |date=2012-01-09 |title=2011 Word of the Year shows how old words take on new meanings |url=https://www.poynter.org/reporting-editing/2012/2011-word-of-the-year-shows-how-old-words-take-on-new-meanings/ |access-date=2025-06-03 |website=Poynter |language=en-US}}</ref> In 2014, the term was featured in a Jeopardy question.<ref name="LA" />
==Examples== The following comments have been described as humblebrags by those reporting on the phenomenon: *“Being famous and having a fender bender is weird. You want to be upset but the other drivers just thrilled & giddy that it’s you.” <ref name="NYT" /> *"I hate that I look so young; even a 19-year-old hit on me!" <ref name="Time" /> *"Ugh, it's so annoying! I've lost so much weight that none of my clothes fit me anymore!" <ref name="PT" /> *“Why do I always get asked to work on the most important assignment?” <ref name="Time" />
==Presentation== Humblebragging is one method of bragging while avoiding seeming impolite and breaking social rules. Multiple rhetorical techniques have been used in humblebragging, including asking questions, complaining, and presenting information in a seemingly objective way.<ref name=SD>{{cite journal | url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378216623002710 | doi=10.1016/j.pragma.2023.10.011 | title="I don't mean to humblebrag"—on the reception of humblebrags from a cognitive-pragmatic perspective | date=2023 | last1=Zuo | first1=Baiyao | journal=Journal of Pragmatics | volume=218 | pages=165–179 | url-access=subscription }}</ref>
==Psychological impacts== Studies on humblebragging suggest that it generally makes worse impression on others than standard bragging.<ref name="Time" >{{cite magazine |last1=Ducharme |first1=Jamie |title=Humblebragging Makes People Dislike You, According to Science |url=https://time.com/5095144/humblebrag-bragging/ |magazine=Time |date=10 January 2018 |access-date=30 April 2025}}</ref><ref name="PT">{{cite web |last=Plata |first=Mariana |date=July 11, 2018 |title=The Psychology of Humblebragging | Psychology Today |url=https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-gen-y-psy/201807/the-psychology-humblebragging/amp |website=Psychology Today}}</ref><ref name="SD" /> While humblebragging would appear to make one seem competent and likable, due to its lack of sincerity, it is ineffective and makes one seem both more unlikable and less competent.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Sezer |first1=Ovul |title=Humblebragging: A Distinct—and Ineffective—Self-Presentation Strategy |url=http://psycnet.apa.org/record/2017-40996-001|journal=Journal of Personality and Social Psychology |date=2017 |volume=114 |issue=1 |pages=23 |access-date=30 April 2025}}</ref> Wittels claimed that humblebragging "can only serve to make people jealous of the posters and/or hate them".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wittels |first=Harris |title=Humblebrag: The art of false modesty |date=September 25, 2012 |publisher=Grand Central Publishing |isbn=978-1455514182 |location=New York City |language=En}}</ref><ref name="SD" />
== See also == *False humility
== References == {{reflist}}
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Category:Sociolinguistics Category:Interpersonal communication Category:Internet slang