The Dangers of Flex Culture

Hi, I'm Rochelle....just in case you forgot. It feels like forever since I last posted. I've taken time away from this page due to other commitments and I've definitely missed this. I'm currently on my break from uni work and I got a burst of inspiration to write. I have no idea when this will get posted but in my opinion, the topic is pretty timeless. I haven't written an opinion post in a little while and like I said, I had a sudden burst of inspiration to do so. One thing I love about having this page is knowing that I've built a tiny community that actually care about what I have to say. Today I want to "rant", or rather give my piece on flex culture. 

Disclaimer: This is an opinion post and therefore nothing should be taken as Bible. I have no intention of causing offence and all opinions are my own. 

For those of you who don't know what flex culture is, it is essentially showing off abundance of wealth, through social media. This could be doing luxury hauls, posting pictures of luxury goods or even vlogging from an all inclusive holiday on a private island. My point is, flex culture is all about showing off expensive lifestyles - and I say lifestyles for a reason. There is nothing wrong with sharing luxury goods and being proud to possess money for expensive items and experiences, however when it becomes a lifestyle to present your wealth to the world, that is when things get dangerous. 

Society is built on class systems. Whether we like it or not, there will always be people living at the top and people living at the bottom. Is it fair? No. But is it real? Definitely. With that being common knowledge, we know that there are always going to be people at the top that want to share what and where their money has gotten them. Sometimes that will be a couple of dreamy holidays throughout the year, and other times it's being able to afford designer products and household names. If that money is yours, you have the right to splurge on whatever you wish, and you also have the right to share it with those around you, however flex culture has quickly become more prominent than ever and has somehow reshaped the values and motives of this generation. 

I think that a massive contributing factor to the rise of flex culture is the appearance of influencer culture. I have many opinions on influencer culture all on it's own, but I'm only going to touch on it, when relating to this particular topic. The world of online work and influencing has now given us a new opportunity to generate wealth. Just as celebrities often do, influencers can use themselves as their brand. You no longer have to be the best at something to achieve status and fame, you just need a personality that people are drawn to. That can look completely different for many groups of people, therefore making it an amazing thing for those who are creative; however, it also means that wealth and abundance is a lot more accessible. That sounds like an incredible thing, but actually there are some dangers. 

Hence the name, the role of an influencer is to influence the consumer and their spending habits. They bridge the gap between the regular consumer and business. We no longer solely look up to celebrities for inspiration, but now we have other "regular" people to be inspired by. Suddenly, we're not just influenced by Victoria's Secret models and successful actors, but we are influenced by other beautiful women and men who share their favourite products in their bedroom. It's the whole idea of trusting that if Zoella for example, said something was good then we had to have it. "She looks amazing and lives just like me, so I know it will work for me", type of mentality. If we think about it, it's absolutely genius. Think about how much money we've spent on products, just because influencers use it. They don't even have to directly promote it, if they have it and love it, that's sometimes enough convincing. The problem now though, is that influencers are no longer those regular people we looked up to, they're practically celebrities in their own right and yet we're still influenced. Now, that is no fault of the influencer, it just means they're doing their job right; however, our generation are falling into the trap of mimicking these lifestyles, without the means to do so. 

Influencers are getting paid THOUSANDS, if not MILLIONS to do their job and therefore they can afford to have the lifestyles they do. We see them in Bora Bora twice a year and think "wow I wonder how much that cost", but to them that expense might not of been an expense at all. I mean, even recently I've seen so many influencers post pictures in Mykonos during a pandemic and you can't help but feel somewhat defeated that we can't do the same. I don't believe money can bring you happiness, but it can sure help. When you don't have it at that sort of level, you can find yourself comparing and eventually planning how one day you will. That's the danger. Our generation have become so desensitized and out of touch with reality, that everything is about making money and showing it off when it's made.  Decades ago, people dreamed of living financially comfortable, with a family unit but being rich wasn't necessarily the goal. People just wanted enough to make memories and do things with their loved ones, without having to worry about how they were going to pay the bills. Now, that goal remains but to an extreme. As a whole, our generation don't want comfortable, they want complete abundance. They want RICHES. 

Like I said, there's nothing wrong with wanting money and wanting a certain lifestyle, but to a certain extent. If it's all that you care about and work towards, it's no longer a healthy goal. People put money above healthy relationships and good morals. Take Cardi B and Offset for example. Their relationship is outright dysfunctional and yet Cardi stays whenever Offset makes a grand gesture that cost him funds and buys her expensive gifts. She'd rather be consistently cheated on but have a nice car. She has her own money and yet, its not enough. This isn't me calling Cardi a gold-digger in anyway, but I definitely think she has an unhealthy relationship with wealth and that goes for many. Even the average person. 

Now it seems to be normal for people to make fun of you for just being....normal. Earning the average amount for your age, having a 9-5 job and living comfortably isn't desirable to people. Social media has normalized being rich by 25, and if you don't achieve that, something is apparently wrong. Everyone is expected to by driving and having an apartment or home by a young age and if not, people look at you sideways. We rush life, and then look at people in a dodgy way when they don't pick up the pace. When people aren't driving at 18 and still have to take public transport, somehow it's an issue. And it shouldn't be. There's nothing wrong with taking your time and taking things slow. Not everyone has the money to be driving and living out of their parents' home. Not everyone can afford expensive trainers and designer drip, yet social media will make it seem as though you're useless for not being able to. Now that wealth is continuously shoved down our throats, if you don't reach it, you're nobody. To the social media world, you're not enough if you're not in a certain tax bracket. People make songs all the time, putting you down for not being on their level and we sing a long as if we are. If you live on a council estate, people automatically assume you're an unmotivated individual, with no aspirations, living off the tax payers money and unemployed. That isn't always true. In some cases it may be but there are so many brilliant and talented minds, with so much ambition, that simply can't live in a big ol' house with a mortgage. Yet, those same people will feel pressured to go to school with a designer bag and full drip on non-uniform day or go to work in an expensive car that they can barely afford. 

Flex culture has turned our generation into phonies. We play fake it til you make it and then laugh at the person next to us who are financially comfortable and happy. Maybe they can't buy a Burkin bag, but who cares? The amount of times I've seen people equate appreciation in their relatioships with whether they can buy you a Burkin or PS5 is ridiculous. It's not about the heart behind the gifts anymore, it's "how much did this cost you?". It's a façade and this generation are falling for it. We wonder why our generation is so unhappy and I truly believe part of it is because our priorities are in the wrong place. 

So, to end this post I just want to say this. It's OK to not want extreme abundance. It's OK to not want multiple successful businesses and streams of income. It's also ok to want those things. There's nothing wrong with wanting a multi-million pound company, but don't hold it above all else. When you get there and you have that money, what's next? You've made it but now what? Live your life! You don't need money to do that. 2020 has been rough for a lot of people financially and I get how hard it is. I'm right there with you. But there's a global pandemic killing people like flies, yet you're here breathing and being able to read this message. That is such a blessing that so many people take for granted. When we pass, we can't take our money with us but we can leave behind the love we shared with others and the lives we changed with our character. Don't let flex culture erase what is important. 

Thanks for reading,

Have a great day x