As we delve into the true meaning of money, it is important to understand the changes money has gone through to get to where we are today and to take a closer look at perhaps how social media and the internet have transformed the younger generation's view on the meaning of money. A big transformation that has modified the way we pay for things is the introduction of Apple pay in 2014 and the introduction of contactless cards in 2007. These methods have made paying for tangible and intangible assets easier than ever.
Social Media
Taking a deeper look into popular social media platforms, especially TikTok, negative influencers are glamourised for showing off their expensive cars and houses, although their views are having negative impacts on the younger generation, especially teenage boys. A great example of one of these influencers is Andrew Tate. Andrew Tate is named by many news articles as a 'misogynistic influencer', with recent allegations of him being involved in human trafficking and rape. However, before these allegations were made his misogynistic views were posted all over social media platforms by him and through third-party sources. Through the years of his upcoming fame, he has stated many outrageous quotes, for example, he thinks that women belong in the home, can't drive, and are a man's property. Due to the recent allegations, Tate's social media accounts were all deleted; however, as he was such a large influencer online before his posts consisted of him in expensive cars and on expensive holidays and showing to his followers what it is like to be a millionaire.
It is now seen a lot that social media is now used as a way to sho
w off to other people. This can have major impacts on the economy as the idea of a 9-5 job is almost shamed upon in the millennials and it is praised to be entrepreneurial a lot more. This is due to the flexibility of being your own boss and social media influencers have massively glamourised this idea by only showing the highs of their jobs. This is potentially ruining their work ethic and the idea that you have to work hard for your money is no longer nowadays. The impact on the economy will be a shortage of employers; however, as the rise from remote and hybrid jobs get more popular a positive outcome is that pollution levels will decrease.
Increase of consumerism
Social media has also had an impact on consumerism and mass buying, especially in the fashion industry as fast fashion is popularised by social media influencers, for example, Molly Mae is an extremely influential figure in the public and she does many
ads as her stream of income, however, these ads do influence people to keep buying unnecessary products. With the average screen time in the UK being three hours and fifteen minutes every day on their phones it is inevitable that consumers will be targeted every day on a platform. It has been made easier than ever to buy a product through social media, for example, TikTok has created an easy way to buy products through the new feature called 'TikTok shop'. As it becomes easier and easier to buy products online people will buy more frequently as the thought process to buy a product is shortened in my opinion when the buying process is made a lot easier and quicker. It is also normalised more by influencers to have masses of clothes and beauty products, which puts pressure on the audience that they should constantly be buying new products. This is proven as 54% of social media users use social media to research products and 71% are more likely to purchase products and services based on social media referrals.
I believe that social media is influencing everyone's perspective on money, but it can also be seen as a positive because working has become easier and there are more opportunities for people in the middle class and working class to be as affluent as those who are typically the only ones given these opportunities.
I would love to hear all of your opinions in the comments, 'Is social media damaging our views on money?'.
Eva Rogers