Everyone's obsession with Wordle shows how the pandemic changed status symbols

But the top 1% have been spending less on material goods since 2007, according to Currid-Halkett, instead turning to discreet wealth."This new elite cements its status through prizing knowledge and building cultural capital," she wrote.

That inconspicuous consumption often goes unnoticed by the middle class but noticed by a fellow elite is what makes it so discreet. Currid-Halkett described it as an elite shorthand that"reproduces privilege" in a way that flaunting luxury couldn't. She uses the example of the nail polish color"Ballet Slippers" adopted by women of a certain social status in the 1990s.

Displaying knowledge expresses such cultural capital, giving a person leverage to climb the social ladder and make connections, she wrote:"In short, inconspicuous consumption confers social mobility."Pre-pandemic, reading The New Yorker — or carrying around the brand's tote bag — on the subway was. It said,"Hi, I'm a global citizen who is knowledgeable and culturally aware with refined taste and money to spend on a $100-plus magazine subscription.

But in a pandemic world, this doesn't hold the same value that it used to. With more knowledge workers working from home, there are fewer like-minded individuals commuting to pick up on physical cultural cues. Enter Wordle, which expresses the same sentiment where everyone can see it: the internet. Granted, it's free so no one is actually investing money in it. But they are investing their time, something Currid-Halkett previously told Insider the pandemic has made priceless.

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