A social media post questioning the practice of buying luxury goods for societal approval has sparked a wider conversation around money, validation and personal choice. Taking to X, a man named A K Mandhan shared an anecdote about a friend’s recent car purchase that quickly resonated with thousands of users.
In his post, Mandhan wrote, “My friend purchased a new Mercedes for 65 lakhs. I told him to buy second hand, just for 30 lakhs. He said, ‘society will not give him validation for a second hand car’. We are trying to impress those who don’t even like us.”
Take a look here at the post:
Post gains traction on X
Mandhan’s post garnered more than 42k views in a short span, drawing reactions from users who shared their perspectives on consumerism and the pursuit of social status.
{{/usCountry}}Mandhan’s post garnered more than 42k views in a short span, drawing reactions from users who shared their perspectives on consumerism and the pursuit of social status.
{{/usCountry}}One user reacted, writing, “Just lie to society. They’re idiots.” Another comment reflected on changing priorities, stating, “That’s exactly the problem with ourselves. We are not buying cars for ourselves. We buy cars for others, for social status, nothing else. We forget what we actually need, and now this has become very common.” A third user wrote, “Most people you’re trying to impress won’t clap anyway.”
The discussion soon moved beyond cars to a broader examination of how deeply social validation is tied to personal identity. One commenter observed, “Our entire existence will become endangered if we start ignoring society. The majority of us live merely to seek validation from it.” Another user added, “Society wouldn’t care even if you buy a new Maybach. Society will get jealous for two seconds, and then the Maybach will do the same job a normal Suzuki Dzire does. Take you from one place to another. That’s it.”
Another user summed up the debate, writing, “This is a lack of financial literacy.”
(Disclaimer: This report is based on user-generated content from social media. HT.com has not independently verified the claims and does not endorse them.)