Some of that definitely exists, if even karma score is something that gets some egos inflated, but I think this is a very cynical and uncharitable way to describe it when care for a community plays at least as much of a role.

At the end of the day, even being the mod of a big sub is not much to brag about, nevermind the smaller ones. They are not celebrities, not even to the extent social media influencers are. Most users might not even recognize their usernames without that little tag or looking up the mod list. It's most of all, voluntary work.