5 ms·

I've long wondered whether it's possible to buy social status. It's tricky because having wealth gives an automatic status increase in most places. Of course, p

I've long wondered whether it's possible to buy social status. It's tricky because having wealth gives an automatic status increase in most places. Of course, people need to know about the wealth, hence the prevalence of fancy cars, jewellery etc. So those things are used to broadcast wealth and thus hopefully increase social standing. The social networks mentioned in the post don't create status directly, but rather are used to advertise the status or wealth that was already there, which may have a compounding effect. But none of these methods are very efficient, I wonder what a more direct method would be? Something like "rent-a-cool-friend" or any of the Fyre founder's various (fraudulent) schemes.

nilskidoo 8y ago
I'd say it is actually far, far easier to buy social status than to earn it.
- svantana 8y ago
  I never said it wasn't. But I'm not so sure you can buy status without putting in some effort on your own part. Maybe it's a bit like physical fitness -- you can pay for a nice gym, a personal trainer, etc, but you still have to do the heavy lifting yourself (pun intended).
  - nilskidoo 8y ago
    I get what you're saying, but I can't imagine the Kardashians lifting anything heavier than a toilet lid to upchuck their biscotti though.
- cabalamat 8y ago
  Could you give some examples of what you mean?
pm90 8y ago
IMO you can't buy social status the same way that you buy a macbook. This is the reason why you see a lot of kids of wealthy families flail around forever trying to "make their mark" despite having the power that wealth bestows on them. For whatever reason, they cannot get the people they really admire to take them seriously or even acknowledge their existence and it drives them mad. You can throw an impressive amount of money on things and earn the admiration of certain kinds of people. But those tend to be the same people who will flock to _any_ person with the same kind of wealth. So you have to live with the fact that these "friends" like you only for your wealth and not for _you_. But maybe that's fine if its what you're looking for.
IgorPartola 8y ago
I think at least in some circumstances you can. Take photography for example. Most photographers can produce a decent shot if given enough time. So something like Instagram is saturated with stunning photos with a dozen likes and no comments. What’s a photographer to do to get noticed? Lo and behold, they can shoot a famous model or ten. The shots are just as good as their sister’s boyfriend’s cousin’s, maybe the modeling is slightly better. But the mere fact that the Instagram-famous model shared the photo and vouched for the wonderful experience will immediately bring more attention to the photographer. Most models in this case won’t just do it for free, so you will be buying this attention. But it is worth it because if you do this enough times, you will get a huge following eventually. Then you can start expanding out from Instagram into other venues. Art shows, magazines, etc. Again, your photography may be “average” (compared to other competent photographers), but your marketing + your cash is what really propels this forward. Do this for a decade or two and chances are you can get gigs that would make you a household name.
t0mbstone 8y ago
Two words: Rap videos
theNJR 8y ago
“Value is tied to scarcity, and scarcity on social networks derives from proof of work," says Wei in his article. On Instgram, TikTok, etc, the status is earned through work IE posting a highly liked photo. TikTok dancing is hard, and people spend hours getting the perfect shot. That creates status, and it's broadcast globally.

nilskidoo 8y ago

I'd say it is actually far, far easier to buy social status than to earn it.

svantana 8y ago
I never said it wasn't. But I'm not so sure you can buy status without putting in some effort on your own part. Maybe it's a bit like physical fitness -- you can pay for a nice gym, a personal trainer, etc, but you still have to do the heavy lifting yourself (pun intended).
- nilskidoo 8y ago
  I get what you're saying, but I can't imagine the Kardashians lifting anything heavier than a toilet lid to upchuck their biscotti though.
cabalamat 8y ago
Could you give some examples of what you mean?

pm90 8y ago

IMO you can't buy social status the same way that you buy a macbook. This is the reason why you see a lot of kids of wealthy families flail around forever trying to "make their mark" despite having the power that wealth bestows on them. For whatever reason, they cannot get the people they really admire to take them seriously or even acknowledge their existence and it drives them mad. You can throw an impressive amount of money on things and earn the admiration of certain kinds of people. But those tend to be the same people who will flock to _any_ person with the same kind of wealth. So you have to live with the fact that these "friends" like you only for your wealth and not for _you_. But maybe that's fine if its what you're looking for.

IgorPartola 8y ago

I think at least in some circumstances you can. Take photography for example. Most photographers can produce a decent shot if given enough time. So something like Instagram is saturated with stunning photos with a dozen likes and no comments. What’s a photographer to do to get noticed? Lo and behold, they can shoot a famous model or ten. The shots are just as good as their sister’s boyfriend’s cousin’s, maybe the modeling is slightly better. But the mere fact that the Instagram-famous model shared the photo and vouched for the wonderful experience will immediately bring more attention to the photographer. Most models in this case won’t just do it for free, so you will be buying this attention. But it is worth it because if you do this enough times, you will get a huge following eventually. Then you can start expanding out from Instagram into other venues. Art shows, magazines, etc. Again, your photography may be “average” (compared to other competent photographers), but your marketing + your cash is what really propels this forward. Do this for a decade or two and chances are you can get gigs that would make you a household name.

t0mbstone 8y ago

Two words: Rap videos

theNJR 8y ago

“Value is tied to scarcity, and scarcity on social networks derives from proof of work," says Wei in his article. On Instgram, TikTok, etc, the status is earned through work IE posting a highly liked photo. TikTok dancing is hard, and people spend hours getting the perfect shot. That creates status, and it's broadcast globally.