Clicks & Clout: How We Seek Status In the Digital Age

Weekly writing about how technology and people intersect. By day, I’m building Daybreak to partner with early-stage founders. By night, I’m writing Digital Native about market trends and startup opportunities.

E.B. White once wrote, “By reading automobile ads, you’d think the primary function of the automobile is to carry its owner into a higher social strata.”

Cars may be the clearest example of how consumerism revolves around status. When the automobile exploded in the mid-20th century, different makes and models emerged for different demographics. Ford and Chevy were for the working class. Dodge and Pontiac were for the middle class. Buicks were for the upper-middle-class, and business executives cruised into reserved parking spots in Cadillacs.

Car adverts plainly communicate what associations you’ll achieve by purchasing that brand. Here’s a 1952 ad for a Jaguar that clearly insinuates that owning a Jaguar = increased sex appeal:

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