The growth of social media and the real-time update from each corner of the sphere makes people consciously and unconsciously post everything they want to post. Some don't have any intentions, but most only want to show off. People who have lots of followers tend to be seen as having more influence just because of the amount, and they feel the need to show where they're at, what they're eating, who they're friends with, and brands they're using. This behavior these days is called Flexing Culture isn't something new to the society. People show their wealth nowadays through social media, but for a long time, people who use branded or luxury items and want to be seen wearing those, in some way wanted to show their wealth, status, and power. Let's look back to the early 2000s with rich Beverly Hills kids like Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie, who constantly used branded items from head to toe although they didn't mention these brands at all, the audience could see that these two were exclusive customers of high brands.
And with the existence of social media, high brands want to engage or even collaborate with people who have large followings as a part of their new marketing strategy that will attract a new market of customers. Group of people who are not financially capable of affording these brands would be attracted to buy these items as their role models, or influencers would be using them, or even become an ambassador of said brand. According to psychologist Tim Kasser, regarding this issue, over 200 studies found out that people tend to endorse materialism, which makes these people less emphatic, less generous, more competitive, and more likely to prefer not paying attention to environmental sustainability. They will support harmful and discriminatory beliefs.
Its impact on well-being is how subtle it creeps into our daily lives. We would be thinking about what to post, how to impress people, and what to buy that excites people. Sometimes people don't realize until the damage is done. Part of it is usually an inferiority complex where people feel they're less than other people. Followers will only see what they see on social media and perceive things through the platform without having an actual and engaging conversation. We need to pay more attention to others' thoughts and feelings, not what they have or wear.
