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Rich Kids of Instagram is a series of products of somewhat unclear ownership and membership. It is, or began as, a Tumblr. That website collects Instagram pictures of depravity and wastefulness: yachts, bikini bodies, alcohol, cars, watches (so many boring expensive watches!), nightclubs. They are often funny. It’s usually unclear whether the taker of the photograph was the one who caused it to be published on the Tumblr or whether it was swept in by mockers—or admirers?
The site has a huge moneyed sea of characters. For me, the most typical is a humorless and paste-colored cheese called Jack Siebert, who stands brave and chinless against azure-water backdrops, adding insightful captions like “Life’s a beach” and “Loving the Hamptons.” Most “rich kids” (if indeed they are?) are great with hashtags: “Spotted in #downtown #SanFransico wearing a #fun #summersuit! #suiting #suit #sanfran,” wrote someone who calls himself The-Marcus-Adolf recently. Sure, it’s all very sic throughout, as the kids are fairly post-text: “I was playing tennis at friend home when two others friends were come in helicopter to playing tennis with us,” captioned official-antoine. Antoine, kitten, you’re rich—maybe hire an English tutor.
Then, once this was...