You Can Tell How Fake Someone Is By 5 Things They Care About Way Too Much
Prostock-studio | Shutterstock Fake people are driven by inadequacy and insecurity, and are completely unsure of who they are.
They don't feel ashamed about it, so they perform to be liked and admired. Their lives are shaped by deceit, which can make their specific behaviors and traits hard to pick up on right away. However, you can usually tell how fake someone is by certain things they care way too much about.
They'll constantly prioritize these things, talking about them all the time or finding ways to bring them up. Even if everything else is subtle and seemingly harmless, these topics of conversation and behaviors become obvious, especially since they're mostly superficial and focused on how it can shape others' perception of them.
You can usually tell how fake someone is by the things they care too much about:
1. Gossip about other people
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While people sometimes form superficial connections over a dislike for someone else or simply to gossip, most of the time, a person who only brings gossipy energy to a conversation has nothing interesting to say about themselves. The most appealing thing about their own personalities is what they can say or know about someone else.
Even though it might feel exciting and somewhat exclusive in the moment to take part in these conversations, especially if they're a charming narcissist, in the end, it's clear that all this is a facade for a deep sense of insecurity they can't help but compensate for.
2. Status symbols
Instead of focusing on investing in their own well-being or personal growth, fake people are obsessed with external validation and attention. Even when that means overspending on status symbols that are out of their budget or clinging to higher-status people, they care way too much about having the kind of lifestyle they're not living.
You'll often catch these kinds of people name-dropping in a conversation or wearing "loud" luxury, even bragging about goals before they accomplish anything, usually at their own expense. They care about how other people perceive them, even when it puts their self-esteem or bank account at risk.
3. Looking good
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Whether it's in an appearance-driven way, like spending hours getting ready or curating a closet full of clothes intended to get them attention, or in a social way, performing compassion and empathy, fake people are obsessed with looking good. Even when they're overlooking their own needs or overstepping someone else's boundaries, they're going to frame themselves in a positive way.
In our lives, these people usually manifest as fake friends whose personalities change when someone they admire walks into a room. They're scanning over our heads for better conversation. They're willing to cancel plans and ditch us the second something better comes into view.
4. Being liked by everyone
Even if they put on a kind of grandiose facade, most fake people are driven only by a need for approval and validation. They care about being liked, instead of living a life that feels good for them and meets their internal needs, because they have no sense of self-worth internally.
From people-pleasing at their own expense to throwing loved ones under the bus for a better social image, they'll clearly do whatever it takes to be liked.
5. What other people can do for them
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Fake people are the leaders of most transactional relationships, because they care more about what other people can do for them than about building a truly healthy partnership. They keep score and weaponize compassion to blackmail people, as well as always using phrases like "you owe me" when they do something nice.
Even if you're the person they're trying to impress right now, at some point or another, you'll be able to tell how fake they are by how they treat other people in their lives.
Zayda Slabbekoorn is a senior editorial strategist with a bachelor's degree in social relations & policy and gender studies who focuses on psychology, relationships, self-help, and human interest stories.
