History shows that showing off has always been a part of our society but recent developments such as the internet and social media have pushed it to fever pitch level and more people are now involved in it. People now show off possessions like cars, houses, watches, jewellery and even wads of hard currency. Why do people do this considering the negative effects in may have on them such as:

1.Attracting opportunistic behaviour from others.
2.Putting family members who may not be benefiting from such wealth in harm’s way as they may be susceptible to kidnapping.
3.A higher propensity to be robbed
4.Privacy infringement
5.Attracting ‘sniffers’ who many may regard as haters (especially when you have skeletons in your cupboard.....everyone does these days anyway)
6.Attracting fair weather friends.
7.[s]Activating that old woman in your village[/s]......na joke oh.

Below are the reasons why people show off:

They want to be noticed and recognized: Such people believe that they didn't get the attention they deserve and so they show off to send one clear message,"I am here, please notice me". They practically beg you to notice them even when you are begging them to accept you.
Your opinion is paramount to them: Most people don’t worry much about the opinion of it doesn't have a significant impact on their happiness but to those who show off it is the opposite. Your opinion is of utmost importance and when they fail to get you to like them they become extremely upset.
They believe that people underestimate them: They do their best to show off their best possessions to prove that they are wealthy because they believe they are underestimated!!
They are interested in someone: An example is a guy who lacks self confidence and resorts to showing off to woo women
They believe others value them negatively: Lack of self confidence drives showy people to try to elevate their self esteem by showing off.

However not all cases of showing off are bad. When people show off in order to achieve goals such as getting more business clients or securing a contract, they do this for positive benefits but when people have a personality disorder that makes them show because they believe others look down on them, there is a huge problem.