ZBB
Emperor
Okay, no problem. Insert Motorola/StarTac in place of iPhone. I still didn't, nor did anyone I knew at the time, view cellphone ownership as a flauntation of wealth (or self-righteous - as that's what you were originally comparing it to). And *we* certainly don't view BEV ownership and subsequently having designated parking charge spots as self-righteous. Clearly we come from different worlds.
Well... I remember a guy in my high school class flaunting a Motorola brick phone in '88. Shortly after getting my drivers license, I saw him drive past the other way, window down in his car, elbow on the sill and phone to his ear. I don't think he was actually talking to anyone... It was likely his dad's, and the cost per minute back then was high enough that I'm pretty certain he wasn't actually using it...