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Consider Instagram. The platform focuses on images, the perfect breeding ground for the infamous humblebrag. "Selfies, the bread and butter of the network, are a source of bragging in their own right. But to downplay this outright display of narcissism, they are now combined with heartfelt captions," Batty said.
"Look at this amazing shot of me where my skin and hair are flawless! But oops, I actually wanted to talk about how life is a struggle and being a social media influencer isn't all it's cracked up to be... #selfcare #love #mentalhealth." Sounds familiar? That's probably because you've seen this post a million times.
"In a move to take some of the market share from Snapchat, Instastories also became part of the platform in 2016. These 24-hour windows provided a wealth of opportunities for a quick snappy humble brag (that disappears, so it’s all good). 'Oh, look at me with all my friends at this party! I should be studying for my law degree (at Harvard, whoops!) #FML #lifeishard.'"
The term itself was coined by the comedian Harris Wittels, a writer for the NBC series “Parks and Recreation,” who collects hundreds of these cockeyed chestnuts on his Twitter feed and in his new book, both called “Humblebrag.”
