Self-deprecation is the act of reprimanding oneself by belittling, undervaluing, disparaging oneself, [1] or being excessively modest. [2] [3] It can be used as a way to make complaints, express modesty, invoke optimal reactions or add humour. It may also be used as a way for individuals to appear more likable and agreeable. [4]
Self-deprecation was recommended by philosophers of Stoicism as a response to insults. Instead of getting defensive, people should join in by insulting themselves even more. According to the Stoics, this will remove the sting from the insult. [5] It will also disappoint the interlocutor because the person failed to show upset in response to words that were supposed to hurt them, thereby reducing the chance that they will try to upset the person like that again. [6] People prefer self-criticism over being criticized by others. [4]
However, researchers believe it can have an overall negative effect on users. It can result in them feeling that they don't deserve praise and undermining their own authority. [7]
Engaging in self-deprecation allows individuals to appear more likable by showing off their flaws and deflecting praise. [8] People tend to have more negative impressions of individuals who seem boastful and who talk positively about themselves. They are often perceived as arrogant, but this doesn't occur when one describes themselves in a negative way. [8] A person might self-deprecate after achieving something in fear of their accomplishment threatening the self-concept of others. People with higher statuses (i.e., is wealthy, has many accomplishments, are physically attractive) are perceived more positively if they self-deprecate by highlighting their own personal flaws and downplay their successes. [8]
In traditional British English culture, self-deprecation is considered to be an element of modesty. Modesty is considered a virtue, often contrasted to the North American demonstration of self-confidence, often taken for boasting. [9] This is characteristic such as in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand, where "blowing one's own trumpet" is frowned upon. [10] In stereotypical English behavior, belittling themselves means appearing polite by putting someone else first. [9]
Self-deprecation is seen as a major component of the comedy of many North American comedians such as Rodney Dangerfield, [11] Woody Allen, [12] Nathan Fielder, [13] Don Knotts, [14] and Joan Rivers. [15]
Since the rise of social media, self-deprecating humor has become increasingly popular on certain social media platforms such as Instagram, Twitter and TikTok, especially among Gen Z. [16] [17] This phenomenon can also be observed among millennials who find satisfaction in self-humiliation. [18] Self-deprecating jokes frequently mention feeling dead inside, having a mental illness or people blaming themselves for anything bad that happens in their life. [7] These posts tend to be more popular because it allows users to not feel alone in not being able to live a perfect life. [16] According to the American Psychological Association, 91% of Gen Z between ages 18-21 in the last month have experienced at least one physical or emotional symptom due to stress. This statistic is the highest rate ever recorded, demonstrating the increase of mental health issues that Gen Z experiences. In return, users turn to self-deprecating memes on social media to cope. [17]
Social media can be public yet personal and has norms most users follow to avoid being criticized. These types of self-deprecating jokes can let people feel free from the pressure of needing to appear perfect. It lets users display their less-desirable traits or habits while preventing feelings of embarrassment. [18]
Boasting on social media, just like in real life, is often perceived negatively and is another reason why users gravitate towards self-deprecation to appear more likable. [8] People also tend to like a person more if positive information about them is presented by a third party rather than from themselves, even if it is the same information. Furthermore, using self-deprecating hashtags allow individuals to be perceived as less arrogant and more humorous. [8]
Flaming, also known as roasting, is the act of posting insults, often including profanity or other offensive language, on the internet. Flaming is distinct from trolling, which is the act of someone causing discord online or in person. Flaming emerges from the anonymity that Internet forums provide for users and which allow them to act more aggressively. Anonymity can lead to disinhibition, which results in the swearing, offensive, and hostile language characteristic of flaming. Lack of social cues, less accountability of face-to-face communications, textual mediation and deindividualization are also likely factors. Deliberate flaming is carried out by individuals known as flamers, which are specifically motivated to incite flaming. These users specialize in flaming and target specific aspects of a controversial conversation.
Embarrassment or awkwardness is an emotional state that is associated with mild to severe levels of discomfort, and which is usually experienced when someone commits a socially unacceptable or frowned-upon act that is witnessed by or revealed to others. Frequently grouped with shame and guilt, embarrassment is considered a "self-conscious emotion", and it can have a profoundly negative impact on a person's thoughts or behavior.
Internet culture is a quasi-underground culture developed and maintained among frequent and active users of the Internet who primarily communicate with one another online as members of online communities; that is, a culture whose influence is "mediated by computer screens" and information communication technology, specifically the Internet.
Impression management is a conscious or subconscious process in which people attempt to influence the perceptions of other people about a person, object or event by regulating and controlling information in social interaction. It was first conceptualized by Erving Goffman in 1959 in The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life, and then was expanded upon in 1967.
Self-hatred is personal self-loathing or low self-esteem which may lead to self-harm.
Self-knowledge is a term used in psychology to describe the information that an individual draws upon when finding answers to the questions "What am I like?" and "Who am I?".
The third-person effect hypothesis predicts that people tend to perceive that mass media messages have a greater effect on others than on themselves, based on personal biases. The third-person effect manifests itself through an individual's overestimation of the effect of a mass communicated message on the generalized other, or an underestimation of the effect of a mass communicated message on themselves.
Generation Z, also known as Zoomers, is the demographic cohort succeeding Millennials and preceding Generation Alpha. Researchers and popular media use the mid-to-late 1990s as starting birth years and the early 2010s as ending birth years. Most members of Generation Z are the children of Generation X or older Millennials.
Communication accommodation theory (CAT) is a theory of communication, developed by Howard Giles, concerning "(1) the behavioral changes that people make to attune their communication to their partner, (2) the extent to which people perceive their partner as appropriately attuning to them". This concept was later applied to the field of sociolinguistics, in which linguistic accommodation or simply accommodation is the process of individuals adapting their style of speaking to become more like the style of their conversational partners.
In social psychology, the pratfall effect is the tendency for interpersonal appeal to change after an individual makes a mistake, depending on the individual's perceived competence. In particular, highly competent individuals tend to become more likeable after committing mistakes, while average-seeming individuals tend to become less likeable even if they commit the same mistake.
Ingratiating is a psychological technique in which an individual attempts to influence another person by becoming more likeable to their target. This term was coined by social psychologist Edward E. Jones, who further defined ingratiating as "a class of strategic behaviors illicitly designed to influence a particular other person concerning the attractiveness of one's personal qualities." Ingratiation research has identified some specific tactics of employing ingratiation:
Self-image is the mental picture, generally of a kind that is quite resistant to change, that depicts not only details that are potentially available to an objective investigation by others, but also items that have been learned by persons about themselves, either from personal experiences or by internalizing the judgments of others. In some formulations, it is a component of self-concept.
Social undermining is the expression of negative emotions directed towards a particular person or negative evaluations of the person as a way to prevent the person from achieving their goals.
Social comparison bias is the tendency to have feelings of dislike and competitiveness with someone seen as physically, socially, or mentally better than oneself. Social comparison bias or social comparison theory is the idea that individuals determine their own worth based on how they compare to others. The theory was developed in 1954 by psychologist Leon Festinger. This can be compared to social comparison, which is believed to be central to achievement motivation, feelings of injustice, depression, jealousy, and people's willingness to remain in relationships or jobs. The basis of the theory is that people are believed to compete for the best outcome in relation to their peers. For example, one might make a comparison between the low-end department stores they go to frequently and the designer stores of their peers. Such comparisons may evoke feelings of resentment, anger, and envy with their peers. This bias revolves mostly around wealth and social status; it is unconscious and people who make these are largely unaware of them. In most cases, people try to compare themselves to those in their peer group or with whom they are similar.
Social tuning, the process whereby people adopt other people's attitudes, is cited by social psychologists to demonstrate an important lack of people's conscious control over their actions.
Experts from many different fields have conducted research and held debates about how using social media affects mental health. Research suggests that mental health issues arising from social media use affect women more than men and vary according to the particular social media platform used, although it does affect every age and gender demographic in different ways. Psychological or behavioural dependence on social media platforms can result in significant negative functions in individuals' daily lives. Studies show there are several negative effects that social media can have on individuals' mental health and overall well-being. While researchers have attempted to examine why and how social media is problematic, they still struggle to develop evidence-based recommendations on how they would go about offering potential solutions to this issue. Because social media is constantly evolving, researchers also struggle with whether the disorder of problematic social media use would be considered a separate clinical entity or a manifestation of underlying psychiatric disorders. These disorders can be diagnosed when an individual engages in online content/conversations rather than pursuing other interests.
The advent of social networking services has led to many issues spanning from misinformation and disinformation to privacy concerns related to public and private personal data.
Doomscrolling or doomsurfing is the act of spending an excessive amount of time reading large quantities of news, particularly negative news, on the internet and social media. Doomscrolling can also be defined as the excessive consumption of short-form videos or social media content for an excessive period of time without stopping. The concept was coined around 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.
BeReal is a French messaging app released in 2020, developed by Alexis Barreyat and Kévin Perreau. Its main feature is a daily notification that encourages users to share photos with friends of themselves and their day to day life given a randomly selected two-minute window every day. Critics noted its emphasis on authenticity, which some felt crossed the line into the mundane. The name "BeReal" is a pun. Its primary reference relates to its focus on users uploading unpolished photos, while also being a pun of the term b-reel.