Social media is pushing Millennials to buy what they can’t afford

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That could be because you regularly see posts from friends or influencers flaunting chic clothes and vacations, as well as targeted advertising, says Michele Parmelee, global people and purpose leader at Deloitte. “It’s a way that social media can create a desire to have more things and spend more money,” she says wealth.

Unfortunately for young professionals, extravagant purchases never been so far out of reach. The vast majority of respondents told Deloitte that the high cost of living is their number one societal concern — and rightly so, given that they are both dealing with real inflation for the first time in their lives, and the threat of inflation is looming Make student loan payments again (or for the first time ever). Half each of Gen Z and Millennials say they live paycheck to paycheck.

Some are so stressed about money that they are Taking on part-time jobs to make ends meet and to put off important life decisions like buying a property or starting a family. In their place, they adopt more wasteful habits, like buying used or not owning a car.

Social media doesn’t help. There are there is no lack of evidence Social media can do that have devastating effects on mental health of its users of all ages – not just teenagers and young adults. Last July, a bank rate learn found that nearly two-thirds of social media users who made impulse purchases after scrolling regretted it.

These purchases, which often stem from clever ads or sponsored content from popular YouTubers, “can often do more harm to our finances than good to our lives,” says Sarah Foster, an analyst at Bankrate.com told wealth.

It’s a double-edged sword: using social media and then shopping is bad for users’ wallets and egos. Bankrate found that social media users are more negative about their financial situation than about any other aspect of their lives. They attribute this largely to the comparison game: many Gen Z and Millennials said they felt bad about their own finances after seeing someone else’s social media post.

Spending a lot of time online doesn’t help — one in five (20%) Gen Z spends five hours or more a day alone on video social media platforms, according to Deloitte, while 17% of Millennials spend five hours or more a day Video social media platforms spend traditional social networking sites. They believe this is having a mixed impact on their lives, Parmelee said.

“Long sessions of scrolling, swiping, and typing cause our brains to test themselves and send neurochemical signals of demotivation and failure,” says Brittany Harker Martin, associate professor of leadership, policy, and governance at the University of Calgary wrote for wealth earlier this month.

Suffice it to say that you might be better off – both financially and emotionally – if you deleted your account.