An interesting article on the NYC about how the upper classes pay for human contact while the lower classes rely on technology for everything thus becoming more socially isolated. It's interesting from an ERE perspective because social interaction is viewed from a consumer lens.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/23/sund ... reens.html
Human Contact Is Now a Luxury Good
-
- Posts: 949
- Joined: Sun Sep 02, 2018 11:57 am
-
- Posts: 2283
- Joined: Sun Mar 20, 2016 6:05 am
Re: Human Contact Is Now a Luxury Good
This isn't just limited to the wealthy. It is a well documented change in consumerism for the entire millennial generation. Ironically, part of this is driven by screens and the status of being seen on social media as having purchased many experiences.Milton Pedraza, the chief executive of the Luxury Institute, advises companies on how the wealthiest want to live and spend, and what he has found is that the wealthy want to spend on anything human.
“What we are seeing now is the luxurification of human engagement,” Mr. Pedraza said.
Anticipated spending on experiences such as leisure travel and dining is outpacing spending on goods, according to his company’s research, and he sees it as a direct response to the proliferation of screens.
Re: Human Contact Is Now a Luxury Good
Purchased experience is pretty much an oxymoron. From what I have seen of this trend in the education of poor vs. affluent children, it's more like the difference between watching the Disney channel vs. going to Disneyland. Though I would agree that the adult human to child ratio is one of the prime differentials in quality of education across zip-codes, and I have observed 5th graders in a very affluent district being instructed to pursue methods of research beyond the internet.