I am great, I love my job, and I lost 5 pounds! Are we bragging too much on social media sites?

“Are we all braggarts now” asked Wall Street columnist Elizabeth Bernstein in a recent column. She adds that we talk too much on social media about how great we are, how fit, fabulous, how wonderful our spouses and kids are doing. And – don’t forget the miles and miles of running we tracked!

Bernstein writes “A benign reading would be that these are just typical daily updates. But folks, this is bragging, whether you recognize it or not. And it’s out of control. How did this happen?

Clearly, the Internet has given us a global audience for our bombast, and social media sites encourage it. We’re all expected to be perfect all the time. The result is more people carefully stage-managing their online image.

Boasting isn’t just a problem on the Internet. In a society of unrelenting competition—where reality-show contestants duke it out for the approval of aging celebrities and pastors have publicists—is it any wonder we market ourselves relentlessly?”

In their weekly conversation, psychologist Dan Gottlieb and WHYY’s behavioral health reporter Maiken Scott discuss bragging, why we do it, and the emotions it stirs in us.