Conspicuous consumption — the display of wealth as an expression of economic power — is not a new phenomenon but it has arguably never been as easy to practice. Social media has helped normalize it, providing a frame of competitive individualism and entrepreneurship in which the experience of affluence must be documented and shared online. Reveling in the thrill of a good purchase, the instinct is to share it with friends and followers online.

At the forefront of this display of wealth is a new class — the sons and daughters of the 1%, who have taken to displaying their parents’ fortunes on Instagram and Snapchat. Their photographs have subsequently been picked up and publicized through popular blogs such as Rich Kids of Instagram and Private School Snapchats.

In 2012 a series of media reports showcased the worst excesses of wealth flaunting — with a mixture of outrage and envy — and in the years since, the marriage between conspicuous consumption and social media has blossomed, even spawning regional versions such as Rich Kids of Tehran.