Busy bragging: Why we think we're worth more if we're always busy

Are we worth more as people if we take up all our time? Although this idea may sound crazy, it's a belief that has become increasingly entrenched in the minds of younger generations. In fact, this behavior has a name: "Busy Bragging."

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Busy bragging is a widespread phenomenon on social media, and its rapid growth is driven by the pace of the technological revolution. This, combined with current demands, seeks to make workers increasingly faster and more dedicated to production.

To put it more clearly, this behavior manifests when a person constantly emphasizes how full their schedule is, the extra hours they work, or how difficult it is to find free time. The problem is that this tends to reinforce a culture of stress and normalized work overload.

A study published in the Journal of Consumer Research found that people who tend to show how busy they are often do so to gauge how successful they are compared to others.

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As part of the research, an experiment was conducted in which a group of people were asked to rate posts from strangers. The report found that busy people are actually considered more prestigious , as their market value increases and they are closer to business success.

"Those who complain on social media about being overworked often do so with pride. Bragging about being busy has become the new status symbol of the millennial, and behind these complaints lies a form of malingering," explained one of the authors.

Linked to this are the changes taking place in the social perception of leisure time and abstention from work. "Today, if working hard and being constantly busy increases our social value, having a lot of free time can, in certain cases, be perceived as a symptom of low demand," it is noted.

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What risks does this practice entail?

The risks associated with 'Busy Bragging' can be divided into two groups: personal and occupational.

On a more personal level, normalizing excessive work hours and lack of rest can wear people down physically and emotionally. Added to this is increased frustration at not meeting goals and fostering anxiety and guilt about rest.

On the other hand, this phenomenon conveys the idea that only those who are always busy are worthwhile, generating pressure on others. It also reinforces the narrative that a life of running is desirable.

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