De-Influencing: A Financial Responsibility Trend Worth Considering

Scrolling through social media makes it easy to feel like everyone else has it all figured out. Whether it’s a new home, car, or clothes, influencers seem to always be promoting the newest “must have” product. Meanwhile, you’re budgeting for gas and saving up for dinner.

The truth is that you aren’t alone in feeling overwhelmed and behind. More importantly, you’re not behind at all. The lifestyle influencers are promoting isn’t reality, but curated, sponsored, and heavily filtered. Trying to keep up with this lifestyle leaves the rest of us feeling behind, broke, and dissatisfied. 

Social media is a highlight reel

Social media is a highlight reel showing the best five minutes of someone’s day, not real life. This means that every time we scroll, we are being marketed an unattainable perception of reality, setting us up for failure. 

One study found that influencers are wildly effective in impacting customer’s purchasing behavior. This is because influencers feel more authentic and personal to users. After frequently engaging with creators on Instagram, TikTok, etc., we learn their dog’s name, their go-to coffee order, and may even begin to recognize parts of their house. It's easy to forget that these “digital diaries” are influencer’s jobs, and that they know “authenticity” and “relatability” sell. 

Influencers are selling a Life they’re paid to live

Influencers aren’t the average consumer. They are paid to consume and promote content.  Their closets are filled with partnerships and they’re getting paid to recommend the products they “love”. On the other hand, most members of Gen Z are struggling to manage rent, groceries, and student loans. The thought of adding in “life - changing” purchases is nothing but an unattainable dream. 

That same study reports that while most of its participants are active on social media for “entertainment”, when we are consuming content showing unattainable lifestyles for hours a day, we are being marketed too, not entertained. 

Feeling depressed? Social media might be to blame

We’re often told by older generations to “get off those phones” or that social media is causing all our problems, to which we respond by rolling our eyes and shrugging off these suggestions. I’m not saying that social media is the only thing causing these issues, however, there is more truth to these statements than what we give them credit for. What we consume online is designed to trigger emotional responses like FOMO, envy, and urgency which often turns into impulsive spending. Another research study has found that people who spend more time on social media even report higher levels of stress and dissatisfaction with their standard of living. This makes sense when you consider that social media creates a set of fantasy-based expectations. The problem is not that Gen Z is simply irresponsible. The problem is that the system is set up to make you feel like you aren’t doing enough and then profit off these emotions. 

We need solutions. Buying more stuff isn't fulfilling

This isn’t about canceling influencers or wiping your social media presence. It’s about clarifying what is real versus what is not. It’s about making sure you can find a balance between time spent on social media watching influencers and being able to live a satisfied life in line with your own financial situation.

Because the truth you don’t see is that a lot of influencers can’t afford the life they’re promoting, either. This doesn’t make them bad people, just that you shouldn’t compare yourself to them. 

What you can do: financial responsibility

First and foremost, remember that influencer marketing is a wildly effective business strategy and that no one posts the full picture. Second, take financial responsibility: set financial goals from your reality, not to keep up with others. Finally, take steps to learn how to grow in managing your finances from people who understand what you are going through. 

The truth is: You're not falling behind, you’re just being sold a fantasy. And we’d rather help you build something better than try to catch up to something that never existed.

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