Psychology
Voluntary Simplicity as a Status Strategy Against Consumer Culture
Quick fact
In some social circles, driving an old, modest car and wearing plain clothes can signal higher status than driving a luxury car, because it suggests the person has nothing to prove—a form of 'loud' understatement called 'quiet luxury' or 'stealth wealth.'
Why this is interesting
You know that friend who posts a picture of their empty white room and calls it 'minimalism'? Why does having less feel like a status symbol when everyone else is buying more?