Be it a peek into an exotic weekend getaway, selfies at undisclosed and invigorating locales, bathing in magnums of champagne or even using 100$ bills as tissue to clean their nose – these privileged children have been there and done that. Some of the popular accounts like Mirkotocchio, b.nagel, andrew_reid36 and petrinahudson are some of the names that often find a space on #RKOI pages.
Taking off from that, there are several other pages categorised according to geography — Rich kids of Russia, Rich Kids of Germany and Rich Kids of London that have a huge fan following. These blatant display of wealth only get worse, as social media experts have gone on record to mention how the incessant display of ‘larger than life’ lifestyles have given rise to rampant mental issues. Not to forget, an upward rise in crimes among disillusioned youths, who would go to any length to keep up.
Speaking of the same, Sachin A Tantry, a media analyst and assistant professor, journalism and new media, Jain University, comments how the need for filter has reached an all new high. “It’s irrational and over the top. Everyone knows it, for a matter of fact. But again, seeing someone half your age chilling by a fancy beach side, taking selfies at destinations you’ve probably only heard about incites a feeling of void. Questioning your choices and comparisons often lead to envy. Though, we’ve unsure of how accurate are the representations of their lives online; a lot of adolescents get bullied into believing that these millionaire heir and heiresses have a life worth envying, quite literally!” he says.
Adding to how it’s about time social mediums come along with a statutory warning, which clearly reveals how everything that glitters is not gold, he ends, “Now that the social media wave has caught up with us all, I believe teachers and mentors must devote attention to render advice on how it could probably be a hogwash, and educate young minds on emulating an edited slice of somebody’s life is a dicey path to tread on. Make light of it, and caution yourself to focus on the present and not get swayed away by something which is just an offering of the virtual world.”
