Whenever you scroll through your social media feeds, it’s the same thing everywhere – people flaunting stuff they have, but don’t need. It’s the same in every platform. The expensive watches, the luxury cars, or the designer bags that could pay your rent for a year. You wonder how they do it, how they afford it. But deep down, you know the truth. They don’t.

Lifestyle inflation it is called. But it’s not real, it’s a trick. A sick game where everyone pretends to be doing better than they are. They make more, sure, but they spend more too. And on what? To impress people they don’t even know. They strive hard to create an illusion of wealth. People living like kings, but on credit, debt, or lies. Their greed never subdues.

It’s not about need, it’s not even about want. It’s about just showing off. They have been tricked into believing that having more means being more. So they buy things they don’t care about, to impress people who don’t care about them. It’s a cruel joke. And it’s killing them, slowly. The bills pile up, the stress eats them away, but they keep going. They can’t stop, because the moment they do, the illusion crumbles and they’re exposed.

It’s sad, really. No one’s as rich as they want you to believe. They might have money, but probably not wealth. Wealth creation is a totally different ball game altogether.

The ones with real wealth don’t show. It’s said that money screams but wealth whispers. People with ample wealth desire privacy, not publicity. They do not have to get their economic status validated by the society as they know their mettle and perks they can afford.

The ones with new money, they’re drowning, but you’ll never see it. Coming from lower economic frames, they need to validate their entry into the higher economic circles. They need people to believe that “they have finally made it.” And to validate this, they’ll keep boasting, pretending and dragging their showbiz. And maybe, you’ll start pretending too. Because in this game, it’s easier to fake it than to make it.

And in the end, you’d be left wondering – did the pursuit ever have any substance? Or was it just a fantasy someone sold you?