Neither. Just a simple case of status anxiety and their need to proclaim their place in the world. Next time you see it in action, just smile or have a little giggle knowing he doesn't get it.
It boils down to a fear of not being loved when all the social ambitions of acquiring wealth, power and achievement are stripped away from the individual. Modern western capitialist society has afforded us to be far 'richer' in income elevation than all whom have gone before, with the underlying preference 'more is better'. We should be the happiest populous of all time. However, it's that unlimited expectation which is the killer, keeping open a permanent gap between what we want and what we can afford, who we are and who we might become. This creates a perpetual anxiety and the need for certain individuals to assert the DYKWIA principle. Pity the man or woman who is not truly loved, and only loved by way of that which is status-conditional. It is not the person's fault, rather the attitude of society that has created the condition which draws the population towards social ambitions as the only apparent means to love and recognition within their peer group. To appear important in the eyes of others, and the things we do in order to vainly gain that approval. We are all susceptible to it, but one can always change their core beliefs. Know who you are, value your own interests and develop your own appraisal of self worth not dependent upon the likes or dislikes from others. Abide by your own character, share it only with a handful of others, and for the love of god don't shout it out for all to see and hear, let alone flail that platinum boarding pass in hand!
