Insecure People Who Try To Look Rich Usually Do 9 Very Embarrassing Things In Public
LightField Studios | Shutterstock In a society that values wealth and status, it’s not surprising that people would pretend to be rich even when they are not. We judge people by their financial situations, whether we mean to or not.
This attitude might cause some people to do embarrassing things to look rich. They’ll do things like drop names to appear cool and buy fake designer items to look like they have what everyone else has. This doesn’t impress people the way they think it does. In reality, they may be alienating themselves from people in a similar spot financially.
Embarrassing things insecure people do in public to make themselves seem rich:
1. Wear fake designer items
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Designer clothing has been a status symbol for as long as I can remember. Having a Chanel purse or a Tiffany necklace showed you were well off. Bootleggers know this and make fake versions of these expensive items that often look convincing. This can be appealing for people who try to look rich, hoping no one around them notices.
A study found that people in areas of higher economic inequality use Google to search for designer brands. While this may seem irresponsible, there is social pressure to have the best items. This can cause people to seek something that appears to show their social status.
2. Constantly drop names
I live in Los Angeles, so I know a few things about name droppers. They are frustrating to be around because they think they look cool solely because of the people they claim to know. Often, I’ve discovered they didn’t actually have a social interaction with the person they claim they did. Rather, they saw them in public and fabricated a story that would make them seem interesting.
Name-dropping doesn’t always have to be linked to celebrities. Someone might claim to know the most popular people in town, or have important business connections. They want to impress everyone around them, but often, people find this behavior embarrassing because they can tell they’re trying to show off. It makes it clear they are insecure.
3. Order the most expensive thing on the menu
Dining out is more of a status symbol than we may realize. Many people can’t afford a meal at a restaurant, only going to celebrate something special. Restaurant staff know this, and some put their most expensive item at the top to make the following dishes appear more affordable. If someone wants to impress the people around them, they may order that meal to look like they are richer than they actually are.
People want the most expensive things. It’s called the marketing placebo effect, and it has gotten all of us at some point. We’ll choose the most expensive item because we assume it’s better than cheaper options.
4. Look down on service workers
When they go out to eat, they may continue trying to impress people around them by treating service workers poorly. They think it makes them look cooler because, clearly, someone who has a lot of money would look down on other people. We know this isn’t always the case, and it makes someone look insecure rather than rich.
People who treat service workers like this often view them as a scapegoat. In reality, they are stressed, insecure, and dealing with a lot on their minds. It’s easy to lash out at people in that state, especially when they are trying to show off how much money they have, even if they don’t actually have it.
5. Boast about their accomplishments
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People don’t always feel comfortable celebrating their victories. Instead, they’ll downplay them, or not even share them at all. When someone is insecure, they may rely on the attention they get for patting themselves on the back. Instead of coming off as humble and proud of themselves, it becomes a brag fest. It makes people question the validity of their feelings and whether they are trying to overcompensate because they actually have low self-esteem.
When bragging, you trust people to take you at your word. However, some can see through the charade by reading body language and tone, and discover they are not wealthy; they’re just insecure and want to appear that way.
6. Compete with others
I recently had pretty serious surgery that landed me in the hospital several times over the span of a month. To me, of course, this was a big deal. I’d open up to people in my life, and one person gave me an interesting response. Not only did they have the same health issue, but it was worse, and thankfully they had the financial means to take weeks off work to heal, and I shouldn’t have jumped back into my routine so soon if I actually cared about my body.
Of course, this made me angry. Comparing ourselves to others is never a good thing, but doing so about health problems or financial standing can be especially off-putting. One-upping another person makes it seem like you don’t care about what they’re dealing with or what they’ve accomplished. It makes that person look insecure and less impressive.
7. Talk to everyone about money
People who are lying can be convincing. Psychologists have found that they create an illusion of truth by repeating the same thing over and over again. Eventually, they may come to believe it themselves. By constantly talking about money, they think they are showing off to everyone around them. They want to appear cool and effortlessly wealthy, but that behavior is often seen as embarrassing.
This is called the illusory effect. The more we repeat something, the more we start to believe it ourselves. A study found that repetition is convincing, and if someone only talks about money, they might think they are fooling everyone around them.
8. Check their phones often to look busy
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We are all guilty of checking our phones too much. It becomes a compulsion that we don’t always realize we are doing. Our mental and emotional states dictate how often we reach for our phones. If someone is feeling insecure, they may cling to their devices to seem busy, when in reality, they are anxious or unsure of themselves.
When we picture a savvy businessperson, we assume they are always on their phone making that next big deal. Insecure people might think they are convincing people with their constant phone use that they are busy and well-off; however, it may come across as embarrassing. They seem dependent on their phones, and not because they are always working on them.
9. Become uncomfortable around real wealthy people
Someone pretending to be rich may feel uncomfortable around those who actually are. While it’s easier to fool people who aren’t in the position you pretend to be, it’s a whole other beast when you’re talking to someone who knows the truth. They’ll become really quiet about their financial claims, even developing crippling social anxiety that causes them to shut down.
A study found that social anxiety is a serious issue for a lot of people. It causes nervousness and fear when they feel they might be judged. It’s easier for them to hold their tongues when they’re anxious that they could be accused of lying, which would be embarrassing.
Haley Van Horn is a freelance writer with a master’s degree in Humanities, living in Los Angeles. Her focus includes entertainment and lifestyle stories.
