Global scale renders subtle status signals invisible and favors blatant ones.

Evidence

The Old Money sensibility works best when signaling within a closed society; tiny details and obscure forms of patina wink at intimate contacts with the same stockpiles of cultural capital. On a global internet, these details shrink to pixel-size invisibility. Photos of vintage Rolexes and “M”-sized follower counts are much clearer signals. This is yet another strike against more complex forms of cultural capital. — W. David Marx, Status and Culture, 733

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Easy access to information destroys its power as a status signal. — W. David Marx, Status and Culture: How Our Desire for…, 707; Status is zero-sum and cannot rise for everyone at once — W. David Marx, Status and Culture: How Our Desire for…, 73; Global status signaling favors easily readable wealth over obscure cultural codes. — W. David Marx, Status and Culture: How Our Desire for…, 727 (+2 more)

Broader Connections

• Whiteness is invisible as a norm to insiders but visible to outsiders. #exemplifies (0.80)
• Attentional habits divide the world into meaningful figures and neglected ground #expands (0.75) — Yves Citton, The Ecology of Attention, 494