If that backpack or t-shirt from a popular comic book is brand new, but the wearer claims to have been a fan forever, you might have a poseur on your hands.

There’s a delicate balance between wearing brands you like and wearing them for attention. A poser is likely to have brand names on everything they own.

A perfect example of this is the “geek” phenomenon. If you go back a couple of decades, it wasn’t at all cool to be a geek; it meant you were obsessed with a particular hobby or facet of pop culture. Geekdom is now more mainstream, and some posers will claim they’re geeks just to fit in. [3] X Research source

Someone who’s thoroughly passionate about something will talk about it at length if asked, whereas a poser will shove it in just about anyone’s face. [4] X Research source

For example, a poseur pretending to be a surfer may have a really nice board, but won’t properly wax or take care of it. [5] X Research source Not properly handling the tools of the trade is a classic sign of a poser.

Poseurs are so focused on the way they come across to people that they don’t usually know what they’re talking about. They’ll repeat things that are common knowledge, but dig a bit deeper and you should be able to expose them. For instance, some poseurs might act like they’re really into cars. If you want to test them, just get them to pop the hood and tell you about what their car’s got. If they stumble, or try to get out of it, you might have found a poser. [6] X Research source

Social media is essentially a more complicated, high tech conversation. If there are no comments or likes on the suspected poseur’s posts, it’s a one way conversation and you might be dealing with a poseur. [7] X Research source

People who are passionate about their hobby or interest will release content that helps to educate others or celebrates their passion. [8] X Research source Poseurs treat it like a science; they’re just after the views.

If the suspected poseur runs their social media on a tight schedule, your suspicions likely have some truth to them. [9] X Research source