Rich influencers flaunting their lavish lives are boring, and they have been for a while.
It’s not fun to watch someone feed their cat caviar for “seasoning” purposes – yes, that’s real – it’s annoying at this point. Being rich for the sake of being rich gets old fast. There’s a finite number of ways someone can say “I’m rich, and you’re not.”
Still, these creators have cult followings that defend them tooth and nail if someone dares accuse their favorite influencer of being unethical. Thousands of people sing high praises of these “RichTok” creators because they are “rich right” in their eyes, when in reality their fave’s life is a cycle of credit card debt, scandal and nepotism.
Odd parasocial relationships aside, absolutely no one can be ethical with their wealth if they spend over $150,000 on one shopping trip to buy purses and accessories – yes, that’s also real – while people are struggling to afford groceries.
That’s not to say people don’t deserve nice things if they have the means. It’s just that posting a video where you’re artfully posed in front of a bunch of luxury boxes to your audience of working-class people, while some live pay-check-to-pay-check, is a lot like showing a dog a piece of steak and snatching it away before it can take a bite.
What used to be referred to as yuppie culture is now an entire “RichTok” ecosystem that’s meant to praise the upper echelon instead of mock them. Like they don’t have enough nice things and yes-men.
“Showing off excess wealth in the form of monetization and viral attention doesn’t really benefit the viewer,” illustration major Kamyla Wilson said.
At least celebrities like Taylor Swift don’t post 10-minute vlogs about how great their lives are. Their wealth is more subtle, like the oh-so soothing hum of a private jet’s engine making a 13-minute flight. Their carbon footprints may be awful, and they may be covered head to toe in blood diamonds, but at least they’re quiet about it, right?
There’s just more out there, especially in the online space. People make so much content about art, crafts, entertainment or current events that at least has some substance.
People need to wake up and smell the $75 Erewhon cowboy colostrum. There’s a much freer world out there than that of material desire.
