We don’t want to feel left out, left behind, uninformed, or impotent. We want to get ahead. We want to be in sync. We want to do what people like us are doing. None of those feelings existed before a marketer showed up with something that caused them—if there weren’t a new album, you wouldn’t feel left out if you hadn’t heard it yet. We intentionally create these gaps, these little canyons of tension that people find themselves leaping over. And the reason is status. Where do we stand? What does the tribe think of us? Who’s up, and who’s down?
