The Status Show Off.

As Planners, we're used to thinking of people in terms of their social grade. That's how media was bought.

'Social grade' means just that. You're defined by your place in society, not by how much you earn, but by your job (junior managerial, skilled manual, semi-skilled manual worker and so on).

Technically speaking, 'status' means the same thing. It's your place in the pecking order of society; its how you stand in relation to others, in your professional or social standing.

On Facebook, I'd always assumed your status was simply what you were doing or thinking at a particular moment in time.

But status is the new social grade. It is used to indicate where you are in the pecking order - if you post that you've been to an amazing bijou hotel in the Cotswolds, what you're really saying is 'I have the job that means I can afford this.' I think its deeper than bragging or boasting. I think its part of signalling to others where we sit - or want to sit - in the social hierarchy. In the real world, we signal our class by our clothes, our car, our home. In the digital world, those visual clues are often absent, so we use our status to signal our social standing, to find others of the same standing with whom we fit.

Cast your eye over your friend's status, and most of them reveal an innate need to prove their social status. Unconsciously, we're all revealing our need to mark out our place in the strata of society, giving out signals to others about what we earn, what jobs we do, how much disposable income we have, all to affirm our desired place in the order.

Have a look at your friend's postings.  Have a look at your own.

You'll see what I mean...