>Lots of our spending was driven by trying to keep up with our friends—not just the real ones, but also the parasocial ones we follow online. Social-media influ

>Lots of our spending was driven by trying to keep up with our friends—not just the real ones, but also the parasocial ones we follow online. Social-media influencers seem to be just like us, only one step and hundreds of thousands of dollars ahead. “The essence of influencer culture is a kind of low-grade gaslighting about what is possible and what is attainable,” I wonder about this aspect. I get a lot of ads that seem to feature influencers or people looking like infuencers who seem to be pushing the most run of the mill goods, a nondescript hoodie or such. These folks seem to be selling a lifestyle or identity folks aspire to ... by apparently buying a bizarrely expensive plain hoodie.