What is the logic in selling your life savings just so you can be accepted in a group?

I often hear phrases like "I've been a fanboy ever since I bought this $3000 PC", "I've wasted so much money on this stupid hobby, but it was worth it" or "I've got a $5000 gaming PC, and I can finally call myself a PC gamer" <br><br>That's very confusing. Since when has buying something expensive become an important measure of personality? What does it even mean to be a gamer? I don't get it. Through what process do you reason that being a gamer means a piece of your identity? I don't get it.<br><br>I don't even get it when they talk about "nerd culture". What's the culture part? "Oh, I've spent 20 years of my life watching t.v. shows and using other people's product, and I've wasted my entire savings on it. I've never created anything of my own. That's why I feel such a deep connection in this group of consumers" That's not a culture, you're just a consumer.<br><br>I never get it when I see people saying how something "changed their life". Never heard someone say that, without it actually being a bad thing. "This product changed my life. All the money I've put into it, and the time I've sacrificed. I wouldn't be who I am today, without it. It has shaped me into the person that I am, and I love the person I've become. I could never go back to who I was without it"<br><br>I wish people were more nuanced with their words. All of us are part of a shared human culture, and that's what truly makes us who we are. It's not the micro group you identify with. We're all in this together!