Class signaling via Apple products

[firecat]

"A Macbook Pro is just as much of a status marker as a Louis Vuitton purse or a BMW."

I recoil at the notion because I think Vuitton purses and BMWs signal a different class than ones I identify with. (At least I tend to have prejudices about people who have those things—I'll assume "not like me" unless I get evidence to the contrary.) But I do think that, in California at least, there's a class I might call "hi-tech professionals" and having Mac products can signal identification with it.

FWIW, I think I'm kind of clueless about class.

Anyway, it's interesting to contemplate. What do you think?

Comments

[sofiaviolet]

I don't think it's directly comparable to driving a BMW or carrying a Louis Vuitton bag, but Apple products do serve as class signifiers to an extent. I would consider the iPad and iPhone to be more significant signifiers (if that makes sense) than a Mac laptop or one of the simpler iPods. They're still shinynew in a way that laptop computers or mp3 players just aren't, any more. (The iPhone is starting to move out of the shinynew category and its class meaning can cut both ways depending on the other signals given by the person holding it.)

(And I wonder what my beat-up 4+ year old Macbook says, class-wise, with the flimsier bits of plastic on the case starting to chip off. Part of the assumption of the conspicuous brand consumption model of class signage is that the branded products are in new/like-new condition, implying that the person has the money to replace these items on a regular basis.)

[firecat]

I would tend to agree that iPads/iPhones are more of a status signifier than Mac laptops.