People often adopt certain habits and behaviors to try to appear cool, but they’re not always successful. There are many different reasons why, so if you want to avoid the embarrassment, take note of these 18 ways that people try to seem cool that simply don’t work.
Using old slang
Popular slang is always changing, and as Business Insider points out, it’s challenging to keep up with, especially on social media. People often fail to keep up with these trends and end up using out-of-date slang that is no longer popular. Don’t be that person!
Name-dropping
People sometimes try to seem cool by casually dropping the names of celebrities into their conversations. They do this in an attempt to impress others by associating themselves with famous people, but this is often unsuccessful and is more likely to make people laugh in disbelief than impress them.
Being over-dramatic
While being dramatic can get people’s attention, it’s not necessarily positive attention. Melodramatic behavior, exaggerating one’s emotions for attention, and overplaying one’s stories and experiences to seem interesting are all examples of this. Ultimately, all it will achieve is to irritate people.
Not following social cues
People often talk about themselves a lot to try to seem cool and may even ignore or interrupt others to continue. Even when people express that they’re not interested, they won’t even notice! Not following social cues like this will make people think you are rude or have poor social skills – not cool.
Trying to stand out
Some people change their appearance and clothing in an attempt to stand out and look cool. They might wear bright or extravagant clothing to grab people’s attention or often overdress for social events. However, this behavior often only draws negative attention to the person, and they may come across as desperate.
Bragging
People might show off their expensive items or money in an attempt to be cool, but this is a common mistake because, in reality, it usually makes you look arrogant. As Time Magazine puts it, “People respond better to modest individuals than to braggarts.”
Pretending not to care
The laid-back attitude typically associated with being cool is sometimes taken too far. Acting disinterested, indifferent, and not showing enthusiasm to try to appear mysterious and nonchalant can often come across as impolite and disrespectful to the people around you.
Over-the-top Instagram posts
Social media is commonly used to show off and look cool, with people posting over-the-top pictures or even mimicking celebrities’ pictures to attract attention. This usually results in an unrealistic image of their life on social media, and others can tell this isn’t authentic. That doesn’t come across as cool at all!
Pretending to know everything
Another common thing people do to seem cool is claim to have knowledge and skills that they don’t. They’ll pretend to be experts on any subject that comes to mind, greatly exaggerating their achievements. However, this will only make them look arrogant, and usually, it’s pretty clear that they’re lying.
Giving insincere compliments
While complimenting others is usually positive, it isn’t good to compliment solely for selfish purposes. Sadly, people do this all the time in an attempt to seem cool, but thankfully, it’s pretty obvious when a compliment is insincere. Verywell Mind also points out that such comments can come across as backhanded or passive-aggressive!
Being obsessed with designer brands
People often view designer brands and expensive things as cool, with some even judging others for not having such fancy clothing or accessories. Despite what some people may believe, wearing designer brands doesn’t automatically make you cool; it’s the personality that really counts!
Copying others
Some people may copy others that they believe are cool in an attempt to seem cool themselves, but it just doesn’t work. They’ll mimic the behaviors of their idols or copy their appearances, but not only is this cringe-worthy to others, but it can also lead to the individual not finding their own identity.
Trying too hard to be funny
While everyone likes someone with a good sense of humor, trying too hard to make people laugh can appear unnatural and awkward. You will seem much cooler if you are just being yourself instead of forcing jokes or using humor as a defense mechanism or to mask your insecurities.
Being confrontational
Being tough can be associated with being cool, and therefore, some people actively seek conflict and confrontation to show how tough they are. They might create arguments to establish their dominance and appear cool, but most people can agree that intentionally provoking people is never cool.
Bad personal hygiene
Another style of appearance that some people perceive as cool is the unkempt, scruffy image. Believe it or not, some people may neglect their personal hygiene, grooming, and cleanliness to achieve this appearance, believing that a lazy, unbothered look is a sign of coolness. Frankly, it’s just gross!
Using too many hashtags
Hashtags are an important part of social media, but using too many isn’t cool. If you fill your captions with excessive hashtags, you can look out of touch or desperate for engagement. Forbes also points out that your posts will come across as spammy, potentially negatively impacting engagement!
Exaggerating experiences
People often exaggerate their past experiences or create made-up stories to seem cool. This might involve embellishing stories to make themselves seem more interesting or overstating achievements to sound more impressive. They may do this if they think their real life isn’t entertaining or cool enough, and sadly for them, it’s pretty obvious.
Being self-absorbed
Finally, people trying to seem cool will generally want to be the topic of every conversation, always putting themselves before others. They might ignore others’ needs and interests and solely focus on themselves, endlessly seeking validation from others. Unfortunately, being self-absorbed only makes it seem like you have low self-esteem, not coolness.
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