Expert: Many people still want to appear affluent to “Join the Club”

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Professor of Anthropology at the University of Indonesia, Prof. Dr. Semiarto Aji Purwanto, assesses that the public’s desire to still appear affluent amid efforts to economise is linked to the drive to be accepted into certain lifestyle groups or “join the club”.

“Our motivation to buy is not to meet needs, but so that we can enter a certain club,” said Semiarto to ANTARA on Friday.

Consumption patterns, he continued, in society today are no longer solely driven by primary needs, but by the desire to demonstrate social identity and become part of a certain group.

He exemplified the use of certain products or brands that then form social identity among urban communities.

“For example, Apple users. Their phone is an iPhone, their laptop is a MacBook, everything is Apple. That’s the Apple boy, Apple girl,” he stated.

According to him, consumption has now evolved into a social language to show a person’s status and position in their social circle.

He said that society strives to maintain certain symbols so as to still be considered socially capable, even though in practice they are starting to cut back on other expenditures.

Therefore, according to him, some people still maintain activities like hanging out at cafes or using certain gadgets even if the frequency is starting to be reduced.

“For example, still hanging out, although not every night, maybe once a week. Or hanging out moves to a more economical place,” he said.

Semiarto assesses that the pressure to appear affluent is stronger in big cities like Jakarta because social layers and consumption spaces are more openly visible.

“Eating at malls, hanging out at cafes, co-working spaces, all of that is open and becomes part of the lifestyle,” he said.

Nevertheless, he stated that references to urban lifestyles are now also spreading to the regions through social media and the internet.

According to him, this condition makes society still strive to maintain certain consumption symbols so as not to feel left behind from their social environment.

“We want to be like other people whom we see as better. We want to join the club,” said Semiarto.