Pratul Bagri, February 24, 2015

Harshal Gupta, a middle-class boy studying in Yet Another College of Engineering (YACE), has developed some tastes of the elite class, or at least that’s what he believes. He thinks it is a fad to visit Starbucks, check-in on Facebook, and leave without ordering anything.

“This is the cheapest way to look rich,” says the 17-year-old whose self-esteem is tied to the number of likes he receives on social media.

Family and friends concerned about mental well-being

Harshal’s family is quite concerned about his mental health, terming this behaviour as obsessive compulsive disorder to save themselves from the shame of their son’s idiosyncrasies. “We have no idea why he does this; sometimes there is only a check-in but most of the times he includes his pic,” says his mother who is not quite fond of her only child. “And it is always the same generic pic, him standing somewhere where Starbucks logo is clearly visible and making a V-sign with his fingers.”

“My mother is just upset because I don’t go to Café Coffee Day,” says Harshal, failing to grasp his mother’s genuine concern about his deteriorating sanity.

Living it up on the social media

“This is just another case of projecting your cool lifestyle on Facebook,” says Swati, Harshal’s oldest friend. “But I have seen him photoshop a random girl in his display pic, so I don’t  know if he really needs to resort to this.”

Harshal on the other hand, does not see any problem with his lifestyle. “I was the first in line when Starbucks opened in Delhi,” he reminisces one of his biggest accomplishments in life.