Why Do Rich Kids Love Instagram So Much?

According to a recent study by the Pew Research Center that analyzed U.S. teens aged 13 to 17, Facebook is still the top social network of choice for teens across the board, but Instagram and Snapchat are where it’s at for the teens with bank.

In other words, the study shows some distinct differences in the use of social media between the teen world’s haves and have-nots. For starters, 49 percent of teens from families earning less than $50,000 say they use Facebook the most when it comes to social media, compared with 37 percent of teens from families with earnings of $50,000 or more. And that percentage only goes down as the paychecks go up: In families raking in $100,000 and up, only 31 percent of teens rate Facebook the fairest of them all.

The study also revealed that the teens from more affluent households are more likely to use Snapchat, with 14 percent of those from families earning more than $75,000 saying Snapchat is their numero uno, compared with only seven percent of those whose families earn less than $30,000 annually.

So what gives?

No answers were provided, though I’m guessing it has something to do with the fact that the image-based nature of Instagram brilliantly lends itself to a generation of kids either obsessed with other people’s wealth or angling for their own bragging rights. Or maybe it’s because both Instagram and snapchat originally required a smartphone for use (snapchat still does) while Facebook did not. Exclusivity is a luxury, after all. Which is probably why the Rich Kids took to Instagram instead of Facebook in the first place. But since Facebook bought Instagram in 2012, the Rich Kids of Instagram actually are the Rich Kids of Facebook, so I guess the joke’s on them and their Cristal-stocked private jets.