Look at me!

In spite of my great looks and marvelous brain, I try not to brag. I am often unsuccessful.

Seriously, when I was 14 I was stunned to learn that some girls thought I was conceited. To understand why I was stunned, you have to picture a skinny kid (so skinny he wouldn't wear short sleeved shirts) with crooked teeth (teased mercilessly by my brother to the point where I still only smile with my lips shut together) and "bug eyes." That was me. Or, to be more exact, that was my self image. I wasn't athletic, I was clumsy, I had a reputation as a bad kid (juvenile delinquent type), and I was scared helpless around girls. The only things in my favor at 14 were not having acne nor going through a voice change.

But enough about me, what do you all think of me?

To get back on track, I came across this article which referenced this article and talks about how we are becoming braggarts in a Facebook/social networking era.

Personally, I don't like Facebook. I set up a page on it but I visit it rarely, don't leave comments on it, and can't seem to find a way to delete that account.

What do you think, are people bragging more? If you do, do you believe it is the pressure of social networking that is behind it?

I can see that point. After all, gather a few guys around a keg of beer and start telling stories of your exploits, even self-deprecating ones (which I like to call "anti-bragging"), and the stories will get wilder, each person trying to top the others. I often wonder if that happens with a gaggle of women around whatever it is they gather around. Maybe I shouldn't have used the word "gaggle."

Maybe it gets its start in our childhood when we used to shout "Look, Mommy, Look!"