New research suggests that flaunting luxury travel and exclusive experiences on social media can make people appear more attractive as romantic partners than showcasing designer goods, but the effect depends heavily on culture and gender. The study highlights how online status signals are interpreted differently in South Korea and the United States.
Published in International Marketing Review, the work examines how so-called conspicuous consumption shapes first impressions in digital dating scenarios. The authors found that experiential luxury, such as upscale trips or fine dining, often conveys competence more strongly than visible luxury items like watches or handbags.
Cultural differences in status signals
The research focused on two forms of status display. Material conspicuous consumption involves showing off expensive products, while experiential conspicuous consumption centers on costly activities that suggest cultural knowledge and taste. As designer goods become more accessible, experiences appear to carry more prestige in some societies.
Lead author Hyun Young Cho noted that prior work on mate selection emphasized wealth signals but rarely distinguished between goods and experiences. To test whether this newer form of luxury signaling affects romantic interest, the team compared responses in South Korea, where social norms stress modesty, and the United States, where visible success is often valued.
How the experiments were designed
In the first experiment, 120 single adults from South Korea and 200 from the United States completed an online task. They imagined going on a blind date and reviewed a potential partner’s social media profile that highlighted either a luxury product or a luxury experience.
Participants then rated the person’s competence, their overall impression and how strongly they would pursue a relationship on a seven-point scale. The researchers used these scores to examine how different forms of consumption influenced perceived status and romantic interest in each country.
Stronger effect among Korean women
South Korean participants showed a clear preference for partners displaying luxury experiences, with average romantic intention scores of 3.50 out of 7 compared with 3.00 for material displays. This gap was largely driven by women rating men with experiential posts as more capable and cultured.
South Korean men, however, did not significantly distinguish between women who displayed products and those who displayed experiences. The authors argue that in a culture shaped by Confucian ideals and sensitivity to ostentation, visible luxury goods may appear showy, while experiential posts feel more refined.
American responses show a different pattern
In the United States, overall romantic interest remained high in both conditions, with scores of 5.72 for experiential displays and 5.56 for material ones. On average, American participants did not penalize visible luxury in the way some Koreans did, reflecting a more tolerant view of overt wealth signals.
Yet a notable gender pattern emerged. American men tended to see women showcasing luxury experiences as more competent and more appealing than those highlighting goods, while American women showed no clear preference when evaluating men, suggesting context-specific interpretations of status cues.
Instagram-style profiles strengthen results
A second experiment used simulated Instagram feeds to provide more realistic visual cues. This follow-up included 180 single adults from South Korea and 195 from the United States, who assessed mock profiles featuring either high-end products or exclusive trips and events.
In South Korea, the preference for experiential luxury became stronger, again centered on women’s evaluations of men. American participants still showed broadly similar romantic interest across both conditions, though American men continued to associate women’s experiential posts with higher competence.
Modest effects, complex real-world choices
The authors emphasize that the effects, while statistically reliable, are modest in size. In the first study, consumption type explained about 2% of the variance in romantic intention, rising to roughly 8% with richer visual profiles in the second experiment.
They stress that social media displays represent only one of many cues people use when choosing partners, alongside looks, personality, conversation and shared values. The findings mainly illuminate how audiences decode status signals rather than what sustains long-term relationships.
Beyond dating: implications for marketing
The research underscores that status signals work only when observers interpret them as intended and that cultural context can flip their meaning. What seems aspirational in one country may feel ostentatious in another, even when the underlying expense is similar.
Building on these insights, the authors are now examining whether the same patterns appear in commercial settings. They are testing whether salespeople who highlight luxury experiences, rather than material items, are seen as more competent and whether this perception encourages consumers to buy.
Overall, the findings suggest that carefully curated experiential posts may offer a subtle edge in some dating and professional contexts, particularly in cultures wary of overt materialism. However, they also remind users that online displays shape initial impressions only at the margins of much richer human judgments.
