Humblebrag.

Humblebrag.

Tifany Chu, Opinion Editor

As proven on the back of our obnoxious “RIGHT NOW” shirts, Ames High is very accomplished. We have All-star students, athletes and plenty of others. However, there has been a sudden upheaval of a certain very irritating habit, practiced by multitudes of Ames High Students. Stick that flu shot, somewhere else, the new more infectious disease is hitting AHS: Humblebrag.

What is Humblebrag? Humblebragging is when someone conceals bragging within a complaint. The humblebrag-ger often uses platforms such as Snapchat, Twitter, Facebook and even face to face conversation to assert their poorly crafted humblebrags. The perfect way to differentiate humblebragging from regular bragging by making sure the statement fits the following criteria.

1) Did it seem like the person was trying to be condescendingly relatable?

2) Did the person say it in a way that is seemingly forced but isn’t really?

3) Did the person complain about something that could have been avoided had he/she not sign up for it? If the statement answered yes to these three criteria, then it classifies as a humblebrag!

Ames High is set in a college town and offers multiple AP Classes. This single handedly provides the perfect habitat that allows humblebraggers to thrive and form like a pack locusts. According to self proclaimed humblebragger, Senior Clara Janzen, says that “ humblebrag boosts my self esteem and motivates me more. The more you tell yourself you are “basically president already” the more you adopt the mentality and motivation that you ever could be.”

Humblebragging in my opinion is just another way for people who know that they are already very accomplished to blast their accomplishments in a way that is more flamboyant than actually just telling you. I often open Twitter and almost run out of breath when I see that one humblebrag tweets because it is honestly exhausting. It may help build you up, however, at what cost?

Humblebragging can be stopped very easily, and all it takes is for me and you to sit down, stop complaining and stop answering questions that no one asked.