On different social media websites, if you are making posts about your new car or a stack of cash then flaunting your wealth like that can be an unintelligent move. Although it seems like someone is doing it to show off his wealth and success but there are a lot of repercussions to this.
Before the introduction of social media in our lives, we had a general understanding that a wealthy person has more. But now things are different because with social media we can watch an endless display of materialism via numerous platforms. This has changed a lot about what we used to think about success and wealth.
On the other hand, the pandemic has changed the way we used to live and it has become harder for some people to make their ends meet. Under such circumstances, flaunting your wealth can invite negativity and backlash.
According to some recent reports, the ratio of debt from the underprivileged class has increased to a very high level in contrast with the people with better financial condition. Therefore it can also be assumed that people have started to compete with others regardless of their financial situation.
It is also to be understood that most celebrities face cyber bullying because of the difference between their lavish lifestyle and lifestyle of average people.
Why people show off their wealth on social media?
According to a social scientist from Columbia Business School, Erica Bailey said that people often post an idealized version of themselves on the social media. It is what they think the society wants to see. The basic idea behind making posts like that is that they want to make themselves look better. She further added that it is not always about flaunting wealth but sometimes it does mean wealth.
When people post their idealized version of themselves on the social media and they do not get the type of response they were seeking then this can cause troubles for themselves. Or sometimes when the version they are plastering on social media does not match their authentic selves then they undergo anxiety and depression.
The Columbia Business School collected data from more than ten thousand Facebook users and found that the people who represent their authentic personality on Facebook possess higher level of satisfaction. The associate professor of Management at the Columbia Business School, Sandra Matz stated that if we know that we can face potential backlash because of showing off on the social media and it cannot help us with our identity or self improvement and if it cannot make us feel that this is how I want to be seen and assumed by the people then there is no reason of doing it at the first place.
This also means that if you are wealthy in real life and you flaunt your wealth on the social media and you do not care what people might think then it is fine for you because you are showing your authentic personality on the Facebook or Instagram.
Final Words
The truth is that not everyone on social media who flaunts wealth is wealthy in real life and not every wealthy person flaunts wealth. Most people with millions of dollars in their bank accounts often live a very private life and they want their privacy to be respected. They do not self promote themselves and they often try not to be publicized as well. They usually try to live a private life and avoid media spotlight.
Most successful and rich people do not consider social media as a source of self promotion. They also do not like the idea of being the people of interest on the social media websites because they prefer their personal lives very private. On the other end some people try to look successful and rich but they are not in the real life and they often find themselves in trouble because of what they post online.
Social media has almost removed the line between personal and private but it is up to us to recognize our interest and priorities. To avoid cyber bullying and depression as social media user you should avoid falling into the trap of thinking that you are not an interesting person if you have lesser followers on your social media page.
Flaunting on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter can attract a lot of negativity, backlash and anxiety. These risks can lead to different long term issues as well.
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