You may have seen, liked and purchased any product in an advertisement you see on social media. You may also be dissatisfied with one of these purchases later, due to the quality of the product or not being as you expected. You may even have felt truly ‘bottom’ because of what you saw in influencers’ built-in advertisements. You’re not alone in this, according to a new study.
Research by Bankrate revealed that social media harms both your wallet and your financial happiness. According to the answers given by 2,664 people who participated in the research, at least half of the participants purchased a product through an advertisement they saw on social media. 64% of purchasers regretted at least one purchase. But the research revealed even more.
The posts we see on social media make us think badly about our financial situation:
The research gave important clues about the effect of social media sharing on people, as well as the rate of purchase and regret from advertisements.
- 47% of Gen Z, 46% of Gen Y, 31% of Gen X and 22% of previous generation (baby boomers) said they had negative feelings about their own financial situation because of another person’s posts.
- More than 64% of parents with children under 18 who log onto social media said they believe online content contributes to their children having unrealistic expectations about money.
- 22% of millennials, 14% of millennials, 7% of millennials, and 7% of baby boomers shared that they intended their posts to reflect their wealth and success.
Bankrate analyst Sarah Foster made the following comments on the results:
“By design, social media is a notebook for only the best part of users’ lives. Every post, image or update affects viewers. Social media is essentially the new roadside billboard, but it achieves the goal of traditional advertising in a much more wasteful way.”
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