This is a classic arms race - an escalating conflict over a positional good that by definition can only be enjoyed by one entity at a time. Other positional goods include popularity in high school and military superiority (from which we get the term "arms race" to refer to the escalating efforts of multiple agents to achieve the good).

Generally, the only effective way to address an arms race is regulation: an encorceable arms treaty, say, or a strict school uniform.