Metatalk: The rise of digital possessions

A shop called Carlings online sells virtual clothes at real prices. As bizarre as that sounds, virtual possessions have always been big among consumers who are seeking social media validation every day. These "clothes" which are mere pictures, cost as much as £30 (Tk3291.47 approximately).

In this era of digital "immersion", we have grown emotional attachments to our virtual lives, so much so that we are investing time and money in garnering likes, loves and comments. Some people would love to replace the word "investing" with "wasting" for sure, but there are virtual shops catering to a wide range of clienteles – they do not consider this a waste.

If you are seeking social media attention, it does not matter whether you are actually wearing the clothes or they are simply edited pictures after you have splurged on some virtual clothes.

The vanity of social media users has spread everywhere. It did not always start with clothes, popular games such as Candy Crush has the option for users to buy extra lives, powers etc. The money used is real but the lives are phoney, yet consumers do not mind paying for these.

In Economics, we are taught that the feeling of owning or possessing goods is something that drives us to consume increasingly more. We buy a coat to keep us warm, we buy shoes to cover our feet, and we buy a bag to carry things. And, it is the same feeling that drives us to bag virtual goods.

It would be wrong to assume that virtual goods have taken over physical ones, but one can assume that we are gradually becoming more comfortable in leaving behind our extended selves in the digital world and, in addition, we want those selves to look prim and perfect.