There’s a hidden social hierarchy on the internet

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Is your Instagram "low class"? While we like to think of the internet as a universal playground, a new digital class war is emerging. From the way you use filters to the number of emojis in your bio, your digital habits are increasingly signaling your socioeconomic status to the world.

In this episode of Power User, I sit down with etymologist and cultural commentator Adam Aleksic to decode the hidden semiotics of "Low Class Instagram."

We explore why billionaires keep their accounts private with 200 followers, why the "photo dump" has become a sophisticated narrative tool for elites, and how algorithms are siloing us into class-based bubbles.

We break down:

The "Puppy Filter" Trap: Why technical illiteracy is the new class signifier.
Billionaire Behavior: Why the ultimate luxury is being completely offline.
Digital White Flight: Why elite users are fleeing Facebook and Instagram for "curated" spaces like Bluesky vs Substack.
AI & Class: How your choice of LLM (Claude vs. ChatGPT) and even your font choice (Serif vs. Sans Serif) reveals your status.
The Death of Anonymity: Why the "surveillance state" makes it harder for lower-class users to experiment with their identities.

The New Digital Class War: Rich People Use The Internet Differently w/ Adam Aleksic

Taylor Lorenz’s Power User

The New Digital Class War: Rich People Use The Internet Differently w/ Adam Aleksic