Karen North, director of the USC Annenberg Program on Online Communities, spoke with the Los Angeles Times about a burgeoning group of wealthy kids who post photos of their lavish lifestyles on Instagram.

According to North, most people use social media to show off or brag, not just the wealthy.

“What kids do is they share pictures and thoughts in a way that promotes who they want people to think they are,” said North, who is an expert on social media.

North added that people probably look at the photos posted by wealthy people in order to live vicariously through them.

“If you went to the Oscars, went skiing in the Alps or had tickets to Wimbledon, then when you post that, the rest of us get to feel a little bit like we got to do that too,” said North. “If we’re following, then we got to share that experience with you.”