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| Dunkirk Harbor, Dunkirk, NY |
Recently, I came upon a news article about an Instagram influencer who had racked up over $10,000 in credit card debt, chasing a lavish lifestyle. She was living a lifestyle that was way beyond what she can actually afford, and worse, she was living as someone else, and living for someone else.
Her problems began when she got enamored with others liking her posts on Instagram, of her expensive trips to faraway lands and/or staying at best hotels. She really couldn’t afford these trips as she was charging all these trips on her credit cards.
Over time, all these flights, resorts, shopping, eating at best restaurants, caught up with her. She was deeply in debt and her life was spinning out of control…
Lucky for her, she decided to do something about her dire situation and started to live her life for her, and not for others. The moral of this story is to not overspend, to impress others you don’t really know that well…
In this post, I’d like to discuss the dangers of overspending to chase a lifestyle and dangers of social media:
Everyone, at one time or another, has tried to be someone else. When I was in my teens, my parents bought me a used sports car. I was excited from recently obtaining a driver’s license, and was eager to show off my car and my driving abilities!
I was living the fantasy of a rich kid, but I was not rich. My parents had scrounged to pay for that car and they had sacrificed tremendously for that…
I was trying to be someone else I was not. It took me a year to realize how futile this fantasy was. By then, I had spent well over several thousand dollars in fixing the air conditioning and the cooling system on the used car, as well as hundreds of dollars on decorative stuff on the car.
My realization came after my first car accident. I remember feeling really sorry for causing the accident. It would take another several thousand dollars to fix up the car, but I had learned my lesson.
I needed to live my life, and not someone else’s life. I wasn’t a rich kid but was pretending like one. I couldn’t really afford that sports car but I had an image to portray. I wanted to be cool and fit in, so others will like me.
All of us can probably relate to this feeling of needing to fit in and be liked by others. This is perfectly ok when you’re in your teens, but this can lead to financial ruin when you’re still chasing likes on social media and acceptance of others, as adults.
Social media’s role in shaping young adults lives is huge. I recently read a report about how young adults would prefer to buy things if it’s on social media, and if it’s liked by others. This need to feel like you’re part of the clan (the ‘in’ crowd), and the need to validate a product based on others’ opinions, is what scares me.
This psychology is exactly what social media preys upon. It’s great at targeting advertising to each person’s personality based on what the person clicked as ‘likes’. It knows how to separate your money from you, better than any other form of advertising/marketing that existed prior to social media.
Prior to the age of social media, advertising had been targeted for the general population. If a marketer wanted to sell a new line of clothing, it would advertise on television, fashion/teen magazines and/or newspapers. These days, the same marketer will hire an influencer on social media to ‘sell’ the product. Marketers found out they could get a bigger bang for the buck when they target specifically to a captive audience on social media.
What’s worse, these product launches on social media will make it extremely easy to buy the product or service it’s selling. There’s usually a link right on the page to buy that product or service. In our microwave generation (I want it now!), everything is done super efficiently and fast.
All of these are designed to keep you spending money you don’t have, on things you don’t need, to fit in or impress others you don’t really know…
Here are my recommendations on how to not fall victim to social media’s cunning advertising campaigns:
- Ask yourself if I really need this product or service
We’re constantly bombarded by advertising and it’s everywhere we look. From the moment we wake up and look at our phones, it’s there in the form of ads on Pandora/Spotify, then on all the websites we visit. Even if we don’t login to social media, we can’t get away from ads…
The important thing is to not let any of these to sway you to buy stuff. Ask if you actually need this. More times than not, it’ll be a no. If you feel you really want that thing, at least wait a day or two before buying. You’ll notice that what you thought you wanted initially, really isn’t wanted, a day or two later…
What social media wants you to do is to make impulse buys. Don’t help them out by mindlessly clicking on the link to buy something right there on the page!
- Just because some influencer says something is cool, doesn’t make it so…
Think of influencers like salespeople. This is what they do. They get paid by companies to sell you stuff.
Peer pressure and needing to fit in, is how we can get into trouble. Ignore these ads. Just peruse them, but don’t buy them.
Even if not all influencers get paid by companies to sell something, just know that not everyone on social media can actually afford the lifestyle they’re portraying.
You rarely hear about influencers being in debt because that doesn’t sell products, and that’s not cool. You rarely hear about influencers themselves dealing with peer pressure to portray the perfect lifestyle compared to other influencers…
You want to get to a point in your life when you can feel confident about being you, and you living your life. You don’t want to live for others, especially for those others who really don’t care about you…
This is a no brainer! Take breaks from social media. You don’t need to check it constantly.
There are countless reports out there that show the more social media you use, the less happy you are!
Like anything in life, use moderation! Pick a time when you’ll use social media and stick to it. Don’t just blindly open the app and browse for hours on end.
The more you compare those that are having all these perfect lives, the less happy you’ll be. Remember that most social media posts are showing nothing less than perfect lives, which is never true in real life. Nobody can afford all those expensive resorts at exotic locations unless they’re multi millionaires. Even if they were, they will probably go broke at that pace!
Don’t believe everything someone says, especially on social media.
- Live your life, and not for others
Find out who you are. Everyone is different and everyone is good at something that makes us unique. Find that and you can feel confident in knowing your place in the world.
Once you figure that out, you won’t be easily swayed by others telling you what’s cool or what to buy. You’ll know what you need to buy.
This power of knowing you, and feeling confident about being you, will make you realize you don’t need the approval of others or the need to fit in by buying stuff or chasing a lifestyle.
- Having a plan for the future will get your mind off of wanting to buy stuff…
When you have a plan for the future, like wanting to retire early or having financial independence, then it becomes easier to ignore all these hooplas.
You must put these goals in writing. It’s not enough to just want a better future. You must write down a plan, then commit to it. It’s the commitment to put aside money for retirement that’ll get your mind off of buying stuff.
Be sure to check your plan periodically to make sure you’re following through on your commitment, and check your progress so you’ll feel like you’re on the right path.
Once you start to see your retirement savings grow, you’ll want to save more to see them grow even more!
In conclusion:
Social media’s impact on young adults is not easily dismissed. It uses the most astute minds in science, psychology, and human nature to sway, manipulate, and sell stuff to unsuspecting individuals.
It knows all the hot buttons to push, and tailors that for each individual. It is hard not to be swayed by it.
Thinking for yourself is always one key element in your fight against this manipulation. Always know what the ad is trying to sell, and ignore it. Use less social media. Have a plan in writing for your better future.
Remember, everyone grows old. You may be in your teens or twenties now and have no worries about your future, but know that everyone grows old, and everyone must plan for the future. You must have a plan for your future now before it’s too late. You not buying stuff you don’t need, will take you one step closer to your better future!
Thank you all for reading!
Jake
Wandering Money Pig
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