A month ago, a Shanghai-based WeChat group in which young women aspire to be socialites became an instant sensation after its members were exposed to be splitting the costs of designer items and exclusive experiences, which would then be used as props and settings for their social media photos.

OH MAN THAT'S GOOD SHIT

This isn't a new thing either:

‘Many high-salaried parents have pampered their children to a very serious extent,’ as a result of which they ‘have shown keen interest in comparing the grades of their fathers and their brands of automobiles. Some children, who are used to motor-cars, ask their little friend whose father rides a bicycle: “Is that man your father’s messenger?”’

From a write-up on the Chinese Communes

Not sure how great that source is, but I think it shows that this isn't some deviation from the perfect Maoist era of communism or anything, it's just people doing what people do. Especially the bit about the pseudo "bourgeois union" that splits the cost on props lol.