How many Brits are guilty of bragging on Instagram?

Are you guilty of whipping out your phone mid-night out to get a snap of expensive cocktails for your social media feed? Before tucking into a three course home cooked meal, do you make sure you’ve got the perfect picture of your masterpiece? Or have you taken a picture of your designer watch in front of your car steering wheel – with the manufacturer badge clear for everyone to see?

You’re not alone. ‘Insta-bragging’ is increasingly common in 2019. Which got us thinking about how people really feel about it? Which are the most bragged about cars on social media? And how does this compare with the most popular cars in the country? We decided to find out.

Which cars are the most popular in the UK?

After checking out the latest sales data from the Department of Transport, profile information from YouGov, as well as the number of hashtags used on Instagram for each car manufacturer, it turns out that Ford have hit the top spot.

Ford is ranked the most popular manufacturer in the UK, selling more cars than any other brand with just under 145,000 registrations in 2019 alone. It seems that Ford car owners like to showcase their new set of wheels on Instagram, as they ranked 3^rd overall for number of hashtags used.

In close second was Audi – largely thanks to their sales volume and their positive opinion score from YouGov. After this, BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen all appeared in the top five most popular cars in the country.

So we know which manufacturers are the most favoured overall – but which are the most bragged about on social media?

BMW: The UK’s most Insta-popular manufacturer

Our research has revealed that the most bragged about car manufacturer on Instagram is BMW. Owners of these sleek motors are keen to flaunt them to their followers, with a huge 41 million hashtags currently live on the app.

In second place was Honda, with over 30 million hashtags used across Instagram. Ford, Audi and Toyota were close behind, all with over 18 million hashtags each.

Interestingly, Mercedes-Benz – didn’t appear in the top five most popular cars on Instagram, sitting in position 11, despite being in the top five popular cars in the country. Perhaps Mercedes owners are less inclined to get a great selfie with their new wheels to brag to their nearest and dearest?

So, how many of us are actually guilty of Insta-bragging?

It turns out that over a quarter of Brits ‘Insta-brag’ at least once per day, and one in ten bragging multiple times each day. So, what are we so keen to show off?

Well, it seems that food is what most of us like to flaunt to our followers – with over 90% of those surveyed admitting to snapping and uploading their tasty treats. Lavish drinks such as cocktails, fancy coffees and so on were close behind with 83% saying they’d brag about them on social media.

When it comes to cars, almost half of us admitted to posting a picture of our wheels on social media as an Insta-brag. Drivers in Glasgow are most likely to do so, with 95% admitting to flaunting their cars online. But which city has the most Insta-braggers?

Glasgow: The UK’s biggest bragging city

With 95% admitting to boasting about their cars online and 70% stating they Insta-brag at least once per day, Glasgow is the biggest bragging city in the UK. On the other hand, Norwich is home to those least likely to show off, with just 10% of respondents saying they brag on Instagram.

While many of us are keen to show off our new car or latest restaurant trip on Insta – the majority of posts don’t hit the spot with followers. One in ten Brits feel jealous when they see their friends bragging on social media, and just under two thirds get annoyed with them for doing so.

Are you guilty of bragging on Instagram? Do you post daily brags to your followers or simply like to showcase your big purchases – like your latest car? Whatever you choose to do – it seems that Insta-bragging will continue to fill timelines for the foreseeable future.

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