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PHWhy is it that some people are more concerned with the selfie than the experience? Why do some people want to talk about visiting the great attraction rather than enjoying it? Well, according to the sociologist Thorstein Veblen, it’s all down to what he called ‘conspicuous consumption.’
Veblen argued that in a high-status society such as ours, we buy things and experiences not because of their utility, or even because we enjoy them. We buy them to signal our place in the social hierarchy. In the past, the elite signalled their status through silver spoons and silks. They patronised artists and named buildings after themselves. But these days, we have ‘conspicuous leisure.’ People will visit some ‘unspoiled hidden gem,’ not because the experience is good in itself, but because doing so proves to the world that you have the capital and time to do so.
But the problem is that when we commodify experiences, commodities will depreciate. Things are valuable only so far as they are unique, or they are desirable. And so, the things that were once status objects, or status experiences, dilute as more and more people get to do them. Stretched limousines become basic, Thailand is a bit cringe, and avocado toast is a cliché. Genuine experiences become stripped of enjoyment because other people look down on them. We get angry that things are too touristy, not because they’re too busy, but because they have stolen our status signal.
So the next time you book a holiday or an experience, ask yourself the Veblen question: if nobody could ever find out about this, if I could never talk about this, would I still do it?
@philosophyminis
