Flash your cash and live your best life
Back in the day, getting your own set of house keys was something to brag about… Now it’s all about flaunting it on the ‘Gram, writes Marchelle Abrahams
WHEN local entertainer Zodwa Wabantu took to Instagram posting a picture of test-driving her coffin, many of her followers were left somewhat confused. On the surface it appeared as just another attentiongrabbing stunt by the socialite and dancer.
But unapologetic Wabantu refused to be dragged on social media, clarifying the post by saying “I buried my mom with the cheapest coffin. I was told I would end up like her so I’m proving them wrong”.
Author Dimitris Romeo Havlidis once said: “Status symbols are social cues, much like the plumage of a bird of paradise or the tail of a peacock, to display public identity and financial affluence”.
When Wabantu spent R150000 on a coffin, was it a sign of her flaunting her wealth; a status symbol deemed as socially acceptable in many cultures? Keeping Up With The Kardashians fans were left mortified when Kris Jenner went shopping for a coffin. And yet, there she was, lying peacefully in a casket.
Wabantu’s coffin post and news of businessman Robert Gumede gifting his son a Porsche is indicative of a culture obsessed with flaunting newly-acquired possessions. It begs to ask the question: what do millennials use to flaunt their hardearned cash?
Anthropology graduate Bonolo Thomas, 25, says the onset of social media has had a huge bearing on what millennials credit as increasing their status in society. “For many cultures, status symbols would mean different things, but what I’ve found is that platforms like Instagram gives the illusion of money,” said the UCT graduate. And as we all know, money is the ultimate status symbol.
Called Instagram flexing, millennials are using the photosharing app to create a lifestyle that most would aspire to. “Let’s say for example, if I go out with my girls, no one knows that I’ve been saving for two months just to eat at this extravagant restaurant. But what I will show my followers is a small window of me living this life.”
Thomas also alludes to the “influencer effect” and the power they assert over their followers when punting certain brands. “The way these brands are being advertised by influencers and the way they endorse these products – it’s all linked to how we value them,” she said.
But arguably, the brand that most millennials aspire to own is Apple. “I think iPhones are a thing. We just look at a person and suss them out on a status level,” said Thomas who admits it’s a thing all millennials generally do. “For Apple users, there’s a constant ladder just because you qualify (as owning something of such significant value).”
Hair is also a status symbol that is ever evolving. As Thomas bluntly puts it: “hair is money”.
US blogger and social commentator Alexis Hill eloquently discusses the importance of weaves in black communities: “Weaves have reached a level of popularity based off of their role as a status symbol within the Black community of women.
“For others a status symbol could be an expensive car or maybe a large luxurious mansion to live in, but it seems for black women the largest status symbol to demonstrate personal wealth is their weave.”