现代人越来越爱吹牛?

She continued her story - and even dropped a few more names, on purpose. But she felt humiliated, especially when she remembered that another relative had recently asked her why her 'big head' was always in the photos of work she posted online. 'If these are people who love me saying this, what am I to expect from strangers?'
她继续讲自己的故事，甚至又故意罗列了几个名字。但她觉得受到了侮辱，特别是当她记起另一个亲戚最近问她，为什么她的“大头”总是出现在她上传到网上的那些工作照里。她说，如果我爱的这些人都这么说，陌生人又会怎么样呢？

According to yet-to-be-published research at Columbia University, browsing Facebook or another social media site increases our levels of narcissism as well as our self-esteem.
一份即将发表的哥伦比亚大学（Columbia University）的研究报告显示，浏览Facebook或其他社交媒体网站会提高我们的自恋以及自尊水平。

And while we're more likely to be modest with our friends and family in person, these are the people we most want to see our enhanced updates online, says Keith Wilcox, assistant professor of marketing at Columbia Business School, who conducted the study.
进行这项研究的哥伦比亚大学商学院（Columbia Business School）市场营销学助理教授凯斯•威尔克斯（Keith Wilcox）说，虽然我们在和朋友家人面对面时可能更谦逊，但我们却最想让这些人看到我们在网上经过了美化的状态更新。

'Their opinions matter more,' he says, adding that online, the usual social norms of modesty don't necessarily hold.
他说，这些人的看法更有分量。他说在网上，常规的谦逊社会准则并不一定适用。

'It's become a phenomenon where if someone posts a status update and 500 people see it and no one objects, it must be true,' says Jennifer Mirsky, 45, a digital content strategist in New York.
现年45岁、在纽约做数字内容策略师的詹妮弗•米尔斯基（Jennifer Mirsky）说，如果有人更新了一条状态，500个人看过而且没有一个人提出异议，那它就应该是真的，这已经成为了一种普遍现象。

'But could it really be that everyone else has a husband as thoughtful as the heroes of romance novels, children who combine the brilliance of Einstein with the winning charms of Shirley Temple, and jobs packed with wall-to-wall glamorous events?'
她说，但是，每个人都真的会有一个如爱情小说中主人公那么体贴的丈夫，兼具爱因斯坦的聪明才智和秀兰•邓波儿（Shirley Temple）般迷人魅力的孩子，还有各种多次多彩的活动参加不过来的工作吗？

Ms. Mirsky says her strategy is to simply hit the 'like' button and move on. 'You input one keystroke of indeterminate meaning to say 'hooray for you!' ' she says.
米尔斯基说，她的策略是点一下“赞”按钮，然后就不管它了。她说，点一下就模糊地传达出“真有你的！”的意思。

So how should you deal with a braggart?
那么应该怎么对待一个吹牛的人呢？

'Feel sorry for them, because they're doing this impulsive, destructive thing that won't help them in the long run,' says Simine Vazire, a research psychologist and associate professor at Washington University in St. Louis. Research on self-enhancement shows that people who brag make a good first impression, but that it diminishes over time.
华盛顿大学圣路易斯分校（Washington University in St. Louis）研究心理学家及副教授斯明•瓦兹（Simine Vazire）说，为他们感到惋惜，因为从长远来看，他们这种冲动有害的做法不会有好处。对自我提升的研究表明，吹嘘的人给人的第一印象不错，但随着时间推移，这种好印象会逐渐消失。

When Ian McKenzie, 30, a schoolteacher in Lincoln, U.K., goes out to dinner with his wife and their friends, he says, everyone soon gets around to bragging - about the gadgets and cars they own, their kids, their vacations. 'I have my fill of it and start to act up,' he says.
30岁的伊恩•麦肯齐（Ian McKenzie）是英国林肯市（Lincoln）的一名教师。他说，在和妻子以及朋友出去吃晚餐时，大家很快都开始吹牛，内容包括自己的电子产品和车、孩子还有度假。他说，我受够了，也开始吹。

He mentions how he went to school with Prince William. (He attended St. Andrew's in Scotland at the same time but never knew the prince.) Or he tells of the time he saw supermodel Kate Moss. (She got out of a car near where he was walking; he had no idea who she was until his wife clued him in.)
他提到自己和威廉王子（Prince William）一起上学的事情（他也是在同一个时期在苏格兰上的圣安德鲁斯大学（St. Andrew's），但并不认识威廉王子），还说自己见到过超模凯特•摩丝（Kate Moss，他在街上走的时候看到她从旁边的一辆车下车，直到妻子告诉他，他才知道这个人是谁）。

The reaction? 'Stunned silence,' he says. 'Hopefully, it will bring the pudding course on quicker and there will be a rush for the door.'
众人作何反应？他说，“尴尬的沉默。但愿这会加快大家吃甜点的速度，然后快点离开餐厅。”