The New Digital Class War: Rich People Use The Internet Differently w/ Adam Aleksic
From Taylor Lorenz’s Power User by Taylor Lorenz
April 29, 2026 · 46 min
About this episode
The episode discusses the emerging digital class war and how online behaviors reflect socioeconomic status.
There’s a hidden social hierarchy on the internet Support my independent journalism: 🙏 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/taylorlorenz 🗞️ Buy a paid subscription to my Substack: https://www.usermag.co 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…
People in this episode
Host: Taylor Lorenz
Guest: Adam Aleksic
Topics covered
- digital class war
- socioeconomic status
- social media behavior
- internet hierarchy
- digital identity
- algorithms and class
Keywords
- digital class war
- socioeconomic status
- algorithms
- Billionaire Behavior
- Puppy Filter
- anonymity
- AI and class
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Patreon, Substack, Bluesky, ChatGPT, Claude
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