Compared with other areas of our social lives,we tend to boast far more on social media.For instance,few of us will stand on a neighborhood corner and declare how accomplished we are or how much we love our spouse.On Facebook,however,we have no uneasiness about routinely posting photographs of intimate family gatherings,foreign vacations,and fancy meals.What's more,many of us share boasts with hundreds or even thousands of social media connections,with little knowledge or concern about who's seeing them or what effect it has on them.Despite the risk of negative effects,we can't help boasting on social media because,as psychologists have argued,boasting satisfies fundamental human motives of creating a favorable first impression with strangers,and building a positive image among those who know us.In our vast social media spheres,boasting is also a good way,or even possibly the only way,to attract attention.
和我们社交生活的其他领域相比．我们在社交媒体上自夸的频率往往要高得多。比方说，我们很少人会站在街角，宣称自己如何有成就、多么爱自己的配偶。但是，我们例行公事般地在脸书上发布亲密家庭成员聚会、出国度假及豪华大餐的照片而丝毫不觉不安。不仅如此，我们很多人与数以百计甚至千计的社交媒体联系人分享自己引以为豪的事物，对谁在看它们、它们产生了什么影响既不怎么了解，也不怎么关心。尽管存在带来负面效果的风险，我们还是禁不住在社交媒体上自吹自擂，因为正如心理学家所言，自夸满足了人类的基本动机：给陌生人留下美好的第一印象，在熟人中树立正面形象。在我们庞大的社交媒体圈子中，自夸也是引起关注的一个好方法，甚至可能是唯一的方法。
