pretentious people .... just some ramblings

[cowboyup]

I just read the thread regarding arrogant people. I found responses to be eye opening in that there were some really insightful information and different views to look at people who are arrogant, etc.

I feel like they want (or have some weird need) to feel and look so important to others due to their low self esteem or lack of self respect ... I suppose this list could go on and on ... you get the point - see Psych 101

I have a 2 "friends" - rather people I have known in the past whom I thought were friends but turn out to be just pretentious, self-centered goons.

This is going to sound a bit on the arrogant side for me as well - it's not meant to be. So I have had the (cough cough) pleasure of knowing a talent agent and a published photographer. yup woo hoo me.
so I get a text from the talent agent saying: "we arrived safely in NM for our location scout"
I responded with OK..... (yes dot dot dot too) because I really was not worried about their safety nor did I know they were going, nor don't care.
that was that....maybe he got hint since I didn't go on and on about it? I don't know.

second person: the photographer: "I'm staying at Bally's for Miss America - getting ready to shoot some behind the scenes and I thought it'd be cool to use for photographing models"
again, OK..... (like he's looking to score?) HAHA big fat chance on that one, unless some women are so stupid to fall for that one!

Oh and of course all this info, I am quite sure, I didn't check, but probably was either tweeted, put on facebook or other social media.

So has our society produced these self centered, "look at me, Look at me" people who just crave any kind of attention? Is it partly due to lack of self esteem, self respect, or is it partly due to all the social media outlets who want even a micro slice of people going, Ohh wow, I'm in the presence of ---
or perhaps a mixture?

I will give a little in saying that it is cool when people achieve something (write a new book, etc.) and "gently inform" the public - not boast about it

Don't get me wrong, I am the one sitting here with SA. I am learning to deal better with it, and yes it is ongoing but that's me.

So, can society be clumped into 2 separate groups now, the SA or SA like people - or I should rephrase, the people who really don't care about every minute of others lives, and the "look at me and what I can do" people who feel the need to post their latest baking of a carrot cake?

just a though...

 

[gustavofring]

Pretentiousness is definately on the rise in society. Everyone constantly has to spurt out their brainfarts on for example Twitter and where TV shows make it seem like being shallow and talentless can be rewarding. Everyone has a platform now thanks to technology, and I'm not sure wether it's a good thing.

This world is becoming increasingly obsessed with IMAGE. Nobody thinks the mailman is cool, or the construction worker, or the baker, but everyone loves the rapper or the big businessman who does some hocus pocus with magic investments with his fast car and hedonistic lifestyle. And it seems like most people are trying to pursue an image of being fast, interesting and suave, cheating their way to succes as opposed to hard working and doing what you love. I feel like there needs to be a shift in public concious, also for the sake of our future.

Anyway, I realise this is really rambling about abstracts, and from me looking on stuff like Twitter from time to time or watching MTV, and seeing excessive examples. On a smaller scale I see it too though. A lot of people in my age group and below are also very image obsessed (facebook...) and it's like they're all feeding off each other's need to be known and loved in the world. Boasting, bragging, obsessively trying to conceive a certain image, etc.

 

[cowboyup]

gustavofring :

yes, good points/observations made. I am not sure it is good, bad or indifferent with all the ease of access to self-proclaimed fame (in whatever form). Perhaps it is a change in times....??

We make our own experiences, but I don't think as soon as we do something (whether it is try a new flavored coffee for example) we need to tweet it, facebook it, etc. Casual conversation seems it's going by way of extinction.
By that I mean not a minute to minute play by play on everything we do.

I don't know I think it's just been one of those extra sensitive times I've been having lately! Sometimes I get into these moods where I micro-analyze things and then try to figure out why PEOPLE are the way they are....

oy vey!

 

[gustavofring]

I recognise those times..

But I think it's perfectly validate that you analyse it. It -is- very strange that people need to tweet their lives or give their opinion about everything 24/7.

Also the medium Twitter itself has basically made discussion and interaction limited to about 130 characters. It's become a fastfood-way of communicating, and that I find estranging and alienating. On the other hand I also wonder hasn't this been going on since the dawn of time, but has now grown exponentionally thanks to the internet? Didn't wealthy people in the renessaince time had themselves eternalized in paintings in some pose they wanted to remembered in, haven't people been showing each other photos of their vacations to relatives and friends since whenever? It's human to want to be acknowledged and to be found interesting.

BTW, this thread isn't really clear to me, are we talking about pretentious people, or the Twitter/social media sickness of society? Or do they go hand in hand?

 

[cowboyup]

I recognise those times..

But I think it's perfectly validate that you analyse it. It -is- very strange that people need to tweet their lives or give their opinion about everything 24/7.

Also the medium Twitter itself has basically made discussion and interaction limited to about 130 characters. It's become a fastfood-way of communicating, and that I find estranging and alienating. On the other hand I also wonder hasn't this been going on since the dawn of time, but has now grown exponentionally thanks to the internet? Didn't wealthy people in the renessaince time had themselves eternalized in paintings in some pose they wanted to remembered in, haven't people been showing each other photos of their vacations to relatives and friends since whenever? It's human to want to be acknowledged and to be found interesting.

BTW, this thread isn't really clear to me, are we talking about pretentious people, or the Twitter/social media sickness of society? Or do they go hand in hand?

....Pretentious people/twitter, social media going hand and hand with a couple of my 'friend' experience thrown in
I sometimes have hard time expressing exactly what I mean to say
sorry about that!
And yes, you bring up good point, that it is human nature to want to be acknowledged and to be found interesting. I guess sometimes I just don't get the extent to which ppl try too hard

 

[AsTimeBurns]

Pretentious? Moi?

 

[twiggle]

I think society has just become a lot more interested in self-image. Things like Twitter, Facebook, YouTube all have a lot of advantages, but a lot of people use them to 'present' themselves to the rest of the world. Remember when you had to be talented at something to be famous or heard-of? Now all you need to do is film yourself doing something stupid and hope it becomes a viral.
Online profiles are a blank canvas upon which people can paint themselves in any way that they wish. A lot of users will be natural and themselves and use those sites for the contact purposes which they're meant for, but a lot will put too much thought into what they put on their pages and tend to only put up the good stuff... such as the ability to only put up 'decent' photos of themselves which belie their 'off-days'.
I definitely think there's a correlation between pretentious and the changing role of the internet. Pretentiousness has always been existent in society, but now I believe that the level of competition between people has intensified due to the more clear-cut ways and means of comparing themselves to others.
Bring back the old days when everybody had private lives, that's what I say.
It does all get to me a little, I must admit. Days like that, I just avoid the computer and go and sit amongst nature for a bit and remember what the world is truly about.

 

[Tigers are my favorite]

I hate it when my friends talk about their "interesting" lives for no reason. Its like they need to get some external validation for everything they experience. Sure, I want to connect with people. I want to know about people's lives, but I really try and wait for the right signal in conversation to start talking about myself. I feel like almost everyone I know doesn't do this.

For example, my friend went to England for 5 days and came back and started talking about how different the culture is and how he was so absorbed in it like he lived there for a year. Yapping on about how worldly he is, mind you this is the first time he had left the country. In addition I know he spent most of his time going out and drinking at pubs. I went to Australia for 3 and a half weeks around the same time, and even though I saw some cool stuff, I just said I went there when a friend asked me where I went. I didn't pretend to know everything there is about Australia. I was there for a few weeks! Thats it! If someone wanted to get to know about my experience more, I would gladly tell them. Unfortunately those kinds of follow up questions don't get asked if you are socially awkward like me(which I'm sure many of you are).

Yet my friend gets to talk to women and networks with people while blabbering about his "globetrotting." BS.

-End Rant.