How social welfare will be affected by an increase in the level of competitive consumption for a few?

Social comparison and the need to "keep up" or belong to a social group, is becoming more evident everyday. In economic terms, "competitive consumption" is a relatively new economic behavior through which a person's well-being depends on his or her relative consumption in relation (compared) to others. The statement that social welfare is affected by competitive consumption is a matter of discussion among not only professionals in economy but also among behavior analysts. Welfare is defined as "the health, happiness, and fortunes of a person or group". In this sense, the fact that the increase in the level of consumption could improve social welfare could be highly arguable.