[ad_1]
The first impression is the last impression. It determines how people around you look at you. Behavior and dress are some of the things society takes into account when they want to define you. However, the two elements cannot accurately tell whether you are rich or not. One property that cannot lie is a telephone.
Many people, including experts, believe that anyone who carries an iPhone is rich. Why? iPhone is mentioned as one of the things that is an acceptable symbol of wealth not only in America but also around the world. It is seen as a reliable indicator that someone who wears it falls into the high income category. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean the individual is full of cash, but the owner is willing to offer something to have it.
This perception increases as a result of consumer behaviour, media consumption and social attitudes. So, here’s why the phone you use determines your social status.
What is a status symbol?
As mentioned, someone can categorize you as rich or not based on specific objects you have. Any object they use to determine your social and economic status is known as a status symbol.
Status symbols change with culture and value. These items are linked to monetary wealth in capitalist societies or cultures where private companies and individuals own capital goods. In others, a person’s calling is used as a status symbol, such as warriors, army, or pilots. Even physical scars are used to represent bravery or honor, hence a status symbol.
The most popular status symbols are:
Expensive items: These include luxury vehicles, watches, telephones, jewelry, etc. These items cost more than a down payment for a house. They are usually inaccessible to lower economic classes and therefore they are status symbols. The demand for the status symbols increases when they become expensive because their usefulness is derived from their high price.
Uniforms: These mean membership in an organization such as law enforcement or the military. It can also symbolize the specialty, rank, tenure and much more about the owner’s social status in the organization. The medals, awards or insignia in these uniforms can show that the wearer has official or heroic status.
Is iPhone a symbol of wealth?
People estimate a person’s financial well-being on the phone they use. As a result, a person with an iPhone is placed in the high income bracket as Apple products are usually considered a status symbol. So if you own an Apple iPhone smartphone, then you belong to the rich and famous as these products are sold at extremely high prices, which sets the bar high.
People use their iPhone without a protective case, which further enhances the status symbol. It shows those around you that you are not afraid of the risk of dropping it and the cost of repairing any damage. Therefore, the size of the iPhone is linked to the price. The cost of owning the latest iPhone model is high, meaning it’s premium, making it exclusive to the wealthy class. In fact, iPhone 13 Pro Max 1TB costs about $1,599, and new iPhone 14 models could hit the market in September 2022 based on the previous launch timelines. Apple’s marketing team will present the new model as the best of the previously released models. So it is the elite who have no problem updating to the latest version.
In addition, Apple gives consumers of its products a sense of exclusivity and chic. For example, it is very easy to share ad receipt files from one Android phone to another even if the two are from different companies. However, this is not the case with Apple products such as iPhones. In other words, you can only pair devices that are exclusive to this company. In fact, you are expected to own all other Apple devices like iPad, Mac P, Apple Watch, Apple Air pods, etc. Due to this exclusivity, iPhones work best under the Apple environment, and your phone will be almost 50% useless because you can’t pair it with android devices.
Therefore, your friends may categorize you into the top or bottom income quartile depending on your iPhone model. This is similar to how the community viewed the owner of an automatic dishwasher in the 1990s. For that reason, an iPhone is a symbol of wealth and is mostly used by higher income states as they prefer this Apple product over Galaxy phones. In fact, buying an iPhone is seen as everything.
[ad_2]