Part of the pleasure we receive from them derives from a feeling that our status is rising relative to that of our peers. The information age has not only provided us with new entertainment options; it has opened new vistas into our neighbors’ lifestyles – and what we have noticed is that some of them are getting much, much richer.
不论这些问题的答案如何，都有一个更大的问题。我们不是在真空中消费商品和服务的。我们从商品和服务中所获得的乐趣中有一部分来自一种感觉，即我们相对于周边人群的地位有所上升。信息时代不但给我们提供了新的越来选择；他还打开了窥探邻里生活方式的镜头&mdash;&mdash;而我们看到的是，他们中有些人变得比以前富了很多很多。