So for the ones who have no idea what flex culture is, it is basically showing off your abundance in wealth be it on social media or bringing up brands and expensive products in just any and every conversation (remember Shanaya from SOTY?).
There are times when we see someone wearing a branded hoodie or see posts on Facebook or Instagram, where someone is on a luxurious holiday. This new “flex culture” has become quite common nowadays. And now it leads us to the question: is it a healthy form of self-expression?
I am not saying that there is anything wrong in sharing luxurious experiences on social media or posting pictures of the expensive items they have with the excess amount of money they possess.
But once this turns into the only way they can express themselves and it becomes a lifestyle to present their wealth to the world, that is when things get dangerous. It starts to reshape their motives and values.
Also Read: ResearchED: Why Is Indian Government Embarrassing India In The Cairn Case?
Effects Of Flex Culture?
We have been looking up to certain people from the very beginning, be it celebrities, models and now it’s the trend of influencers, making them our role models.
Trying to do the things they do or buy the products they promote, just to have a feeling of being like them. It’s not the influencer’s fault either, they are just doing their job incredibly well. Our generation is just falling into the trap of mimicking these lifestyles.
I can’t even count the number of times I wished I was in Goa or Maldives just cause I saw a few influencers living their best life over there, during a crazy pandemic.
At that time it’s a bit difficult to make yourself understand that if they can afford to live that kind of lifestyle it doesn’t mean we have to. I don’t believe money brings in happiness. Of course, it surely helps, but that being the only source of happiness is a little far-fetched.
Our generation is so desensitized and out of touch with reality, that they have made everything about money and the different ways one can show that off. All this to a certain extent is fine but if this is all one cares about it’s no longer a healthy goal.
Does Flex Culture Affect Relationships?
People have begun to put money above healthy relationships. They expect grand gestures that cost their partners a fortune and expensive gifts make them happy. They would rather be consistently cheated on but as long as they are driving a Mercedes, things are cool right?
The amount of times appreciation in a relationship is equated with whether or not they brought you Gucci or a PS5 is ridiculous. Now gifts are no more about love and care, it’s all about “how much did this cost”.
The craze for showing it off before their friends and on social media is unbelievable. No wonder why our generation is so unhappy. We seem to have our priorities set in all the wrong places.
It’s so normal to make fun of a person working a 9 to 5 job, just because he is earning an average amount for his age. The desire to live a comfortable life is far gone for this generation.
Social media has made everyone think that by the time they reach 25, they have to be rich and successful. They have to achieve everything by then or they are doing it wrong. The immense pressure we put on ourselves just by seeing others flexing their life is so unnecessary.
We rush our own lives in order to keep up with the changing trends. Start comparing our own success with others, when all we need to do is focus on our own growth and take things slow. We all need to understand that this is all a facade and things don’t always turn out to be as fancy as they look online.
Flex culture has turned this whole generation into imposters. People are out there living with the motto ‘fake it till you make it’ and then have them move on to laughing at someone who is actually financially comfortable and genuinely happy.
Don’t let your whole world revolve around money and all that it can buy. There is more to life beyond such tangible luxuries. We need to learn to be happy and comfortable with what we have and not run behind something that we are not, appreciate ourselves once in a while and not take things and people for granted.
Don’t let flex culture erase what’s important.
Image Sources: Google Images
Sources: Youthopia, Reddit, we are next magazine,+More
Find The Blogger: @Natashaly05
This post is tagged under: flex, flexing, culture, generation, gen z, brand, money, show off, fashion, influencer, luxurious, holidays, clothing, attraction, rich, dangers, upsetting, jealousy, comparison, expensive, tik tokers, fancy, online, trends, relationships, Social media, trap, self-expression, common, wealth
Other Recommendations:
Watch: 5 Lesser Known Facts About India’s Financial Capital, Mumbai
Great stuff