To think most people “help others” for the ego boost, not actual compassion?

This. Altruism is always selfish.

And hard-wired BTW, genetic.

Social media is just the newest way of getting a lovely boost from doing it.

I run a brownies group - I really like it when they enjoy the sessions I run, that's the reward I get - does that count? I don't get that even small reward from all the admin, training, having to repeat info for parents numerous times etc..

I think it varies. For some people it may be more about an ego boost; others may feel genuinely attached to the work.

I volunteer for a charity (I do voluntary work in an Oxfam bookshop) and I don't do it for an ego boost, but nor do I volunteer out of any concern for the cause or personal desire to help anyone. I volunteer in the bookshop purely for pleasure; I find the work enjoyable. Oxfam and its work don't interest me; it's the fact that it's a bookshop that makes me volunteer, rather than it being a charity.

Kindness hasn't changed shape over time.The highly visible, branded kind isn't new.

Businesses have always been charitable for goodwill/marketing purposes.

If you're judging the world by what 'influencers' do you're always going to get a skewed view of the world.

Give us one real world example that proves your point OP. You can't can you.

Oh well. I've been sponsoring dogs who got out of kill shelters into foster for years. Paid money to get a couple of dogs out of a kill shelter and giving money to several animal charities - must be doing it all wrong

Seriously. Give over. Loads of people give with no fanfare

It always makes me laugh when people get arsey with celebrities who do charity work ‘just to improve their image’. Sure, they might indeed be doing it for that reason, but so what? The charity still benefits regardless of the motive.

The charity benefits FAR more than by just the amount the 'celebrity' gives, by publicising this. Just have a look at how many people have donated to the charity nominated by Alan Carr when he won Traitors this week, as a very current example.

Why are people even bothering arguing with AI written text?

The value of an act of charity to the beneficiary is unchanged whether its performed quietly or otherwise.
As a person with many years of experience working for charities, knowing all the time that the essential support we were providing would need to cease were it not for raised income, I can assure you neither we nor are services users placed higher value on an anonymous cheque than someone beaming from the local paper about their good work on our behalf.
In fact strictly speaking the latter was of greater value, because they were also publicising the cause.

@QuietMotiveFinch if this were the case, across the board, how would you explain (just picking two examples at random) the train Guard on the Doncaster to London train, or the dance teacher in Southport?

On a less national level, how would you explain my adult child (all of 4'10" ') rushing out in their PJs, barefoot, in the early hours to stop some random man raping a young girl or (years ago) five or six people rushing to my aid when I tripped, arranging a taxi to get me home in London?

I think I'm usually kind and I expect that others are too. Sometimes I'm wrong, but mostly I'm not.

Yep.
Actual conversation between two multi millionaires:
I mean you being rich couldn't have happened to someone nicer. You just haven't let it change you are sooo lovely.
Oh that's such a lovely thing to say.
No I really mean it. You even volunteer for charity one day a week. I mean so selfless.
Wtaf? I was speechless. (Not a multi millionaire, unfortunately?)

There is no “cultural trend”. People haven’t changed, society hasn’t changed, some people are altruistic, for others their self worth is tied up with being seen to be helping others and some hold a genuine belief they are raising awareness and encouraging others to do the same.

The fact is the premise of your post has a really basic flaw. Of course it seems like far more people do things to be seen, because you don’t see the millions of people who do big and small things every day and don’t make it public.

I help people because I’m able to help people, and they need help. I’ve had opportunities and privileges that plenty of others don’t. Morally, ethically, culturally, it’s my responsibility to help others. It would be a whole lot easier on my life if I didn’t do it so it certainly isn’t because of any personal benefit.

Why does it matter to you OP? Yes there is much truth in the saying from from the Sermon on the Mount that "Your left hand shouldn't know what your right hand is doing" (paraphrase) in terms of doing good, but why does this annoy you so much?

Yeah, I do agree with this.

Acts of kindness generally benefit both the giver and the recipient.

I think the OP is talking about the performative stuff, though, where people announce their good deeds to the world.

Meh, there are worse things people could do for attention.

YABU.

Provides the end result is the same, it doesn’t matter what the motive is.

If someone donates £1,000 to charity because they want to be photographed handing over a giant cheque in the local paper, that doesn’t mean their money is less useful to the charity than £1,000 that was donated anonymously by someone who doesn’t want any fuss about it.

It always makes me laugh when people get arsey with celebrities who do charity work ‘just to improve their image’. Sure, they might indeed be doing it for that reason, but so what? The charity still benefits regardless of the motive.

It is possible for it to be both - even without including the selfie-taking virtue signallers.

I do the quiet, everyday charity work. I don't receive any publicity for it and wouldn't want it either. Christ, that would actually be my worst nightmare!

I do like to help because I know it's needed, because I can, because someone has to and 'there but for the grace of God' etc... but I'm not going to lie, it's in a way the "there's no such thing as a truly altruistic act" idea. I definitely get a buzz out of it. It's extremely good for my own self-esteem to help others. I don't get anything out of it in financial terms or public recognition and I don't need to because I'm thoroughly happy with the warm little glow I get and the much nicer view I have of myself from doing it. I don't praise myself in any other ways, in fact I'm very hard on myself, but my charity work is something there's no way to downgrade or criticise. And that's all about me feeling good about myself, not about making other people's lives better, and the only people that helps are my family when I come home in a good mood! It's not why I started doing it but it's certainly one of the reasons I definitely don't want to stop.

I'm not sure that it has changed, though? I think we've always had a mixture of the performative, ostentatious shows of "doing good" alongside the much quieter people quietly getting on with things behind the scenes.

Apart from social media giving people a different platform for their performative gestures, I don't really see that it's any different now to how it always was. I don't think human nature has fundamentally changed?

I don't think it's possible to do good without getting some kind of ego boost. If we help someone, we automatically feel good about it. That doesn't detract at all from the help that's been given.

Does it matter? If someone is doing something to help someone else then does it really matter if they want to celebrate it? Might encourage others to do it too. I don’t post on socials or really look at them so I don’t have any skin in the game, but surely the end result is the same?

We had a child because we wanted one. not because we wanted to populate the world, or prop up peoples’ pensions or late life care. We had a child for purely selfish reasons and we love them to pieces.

I've been involved with various charities over the years, and I've had a lot of insights into what goes on behind the scenes. I'm actually in awe of the incredible good that some people do with no announcement or fanfare. Much of it will never be known, even by those who have directly benefited. There are a lot of people who do truly care. Perhaps more than you might think.

My elderly dad's neighbours are also amazingly kind. In so many small, unshowy ways. I'm often reminded of that Wordsworth quote about little, nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and of love.

I get what you're saying about companies using stuff for PR purposes, but as long as it actually helps people, I'd rather that they do it for the PR than not at all. As for influencers, I don't know... do they exist outside of social media? They're not really a thing in my life at all, so I'm blissfully ignorant of them.

Unbelievable! And the very opposite of helpful!

Where are you seeing this, though? I mean, there has always been an element of this, but I don't see that it has particularly increased.

If you aren't talking about what you see on your social media, can you give us a few examples of the type of behaviour that you mean?

Sorry that should read 30 years not 49