Social media might give people a window into others’ lifestyles, but for those who follow jetsetters, high-rollers, and those with a penchant for luxury, does Instagram or YouTube provide a true reflection of how these individuals operate in their daily lives? Well, many of you might already know the answer to this, but there are a lot more nuances to it. It’s not a black-and-white scenario. Today, we’re going to delve into these topics and find out the sort of jobs and businesses that can fund this lifestyle, and why people who post every element of their lives on social media are just as much about selling an image as they are about sharing an insight.
Jobs that are out of the norm
As somebody who worked in dead-end customer service roles for years, there’s a mundanity and apathy about it that can leave us yearning for something more. Social media has become the lens through which people see how thrillseekers and those seeking luxury live their lives. While the voice of extreme sports and thrill seekers can sound and look different depending on who you ask, some elements string all of these lifestyles together. Due to the digital nature of our world, no longer are people and businesses confined to the locality of where they live. While some businesses need a physical presence in their community to bolster their customer base, such as bars and restaurants, there are other jobs that no longer require the confinement of a physical building. Some individuals who lead a luxury lifestyle exemplify this new approach to digital working. Those who trade stocks and cryptocurrency are a good example. Many of the apps people use are mobile and can be accessed across multiple countries and time zones. Fewer traders and investors get suited and booted and sit behind an office desk all day. Some are even leveraging AI and crypto trading bots to try to bring a more methodical and mechanical approach to their trading strategy, meaning that they don’t even have to sit around and look at the markets; they let the bot integrate their strategy. However, as a footnote, this is not a means to make easy money; only professional traders leverage this technology to their advantage.
Social media marketing expertise
Marketing experts who have been leveraging Instagram and other social media sites for the last decade have been able to refine their approach. SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and algorithms are billion-dollar businesses of their own right. Now, that’s not to say that social media influencers do not live the lifestyle they are marketing. But it’s important to remember that they are not simply keeping you posted on how they live their lives; they are selling the idea of the lifestyle to you, and that’s a small but extremely important distinction here. The lifestyle is the product, and they commodify each aspect of it, depending on the size of their audience. Fashion influencers and models often post photos of themselves at some of the world’s premier tourist attractions. However, the dresses, suits, hats and shoes they are wearing are the aspects they are advertising. You can also roll this out and apply it to a luxury lifestyle. Influencers will often acquire expensive sports cars on credit and use them in their photos. They employ photo editors to edit their pictures, making them look as eye-catching as possible. There’s a whole army of people behind these posts to ensure they gain maximum traction. We see it in all types of industries, including casino marketing, where more companies use smartphone giveaways and prizes. Ultimately, the goal is to grab people’s attention and bring as many eyes to the product as possible. However, for luxury lifestyle influencers, the lifestyle is just as much of a product as the clothes they’re wearing.
The waning influencers of influencers
As sites like Instagram become more inundated with people who are trying too hard to be an influencer, or those who are using AI tools to flood people’s feeds with marketing ideas, it does feel like the concept of luxury lifestyle influencing doesn’t quite have the same appeal or originality it did in the early stages of the 2020s. Ultimately, while a lot of these posts act as promotional ideas, and a lot of luxury lifestyle influencers are people who come from families who have a lot of money in the first place, there are clearly parts of this lifestyle that are appealing. Just remember, though, when these influencers are travelling and their flight is cancelled, they can’t find a place to eat, or they are struggling to use their cards abroad. These are the elements of the luxury lifestyle you won’t find on Instagram, and they provide some balance to the situation; many elements of it are not all they’re cracked up to be.
For many people, especially Gen Z, a lot of the luxury lifestyle is smoke and mirrors, part of a bigger facade, all driven by the need to sell the lifestyle to unsuspecting individuals on social media. Therefore, always approach these posts and influencers with some degree of caution.
Article edited by Mark Webber