Social media is an integral part of our lives that has revolutionised information sharing. It is a platform for everyone to share their opinion, art, and communicate with other users. Something we may not have even imagined a few decades back, now it’s household.
It was inevitable for the brands to use an enormous user base for promotion and business. Apart from marketing, the users are involved in a race to show their life extravagant and luxurious. All these affect your spending habit with some positive and negative aspects.
Here, we have discussed the positive and negative impacts of social media on the finances of its users.
- Reviews from the Users
The online community doesn’t hold back when it comes to sharing their experience with some product. You can use them to decide your next expensive purchase or upgrades. However, many of these reviews are often paid by the brands to create a positive environment for the product.
Therefore, it is recommended to use the reviews of the trusted accounts. It is not easy as it seems to differentiate between genuine reviews and marketing gimmicks. In the end, there are fewer chances of impulse buying with no drawbacks in mind.
- Stay Updated on Trends
Trends are significant in the age of the internet for people to stay relevant. It was the reason for the exponential sale of fidget spinners and its fall within a few weeks. Many people still have the limited editions of these toys that make no sense to them now.
You need to differentiate between long-term investment and short-term drift among the ongoing trends. These are helpful at times, such as the growing popularity of electric cars. You will find some attractive offers on car loans in Ireland because of the increase in its demand.
- Easy Access to Products
You have easy access to products on the online listing on the apps and websites of the social media giants such as Facebook. Users can deal directly with the sellers to negotiate a better deal. Also, they can reach them for any query after the purchase.
Brands can introduce new products on their social media handles. This allows small businesses to create a presence in a targeted market. However, easy access to product means a lot of impulse buying with a sales pitch from the professionals.
- Support Local Community
The local sellers and business suffered a fair share of difficulty in their battle against big corporations. Social media provided them with a platform to connect with the customers in their locality to their relief. You can offer your support by buying items from local listings on these platforms.
Your purchase will help the local businesses to grow and in turn, develop the community. Many people in the market share some profit with a charity or good deed. You are building your community with the money you would have given to corporations living in their urban skyscrapers.
- Forced Advertisement
We scroll the news feed on our accounts to take a break from the stressful world. To find something engaging that require minimum attention span. Nevertheless, the feed is filled with ads, influencer posts, and promotions based on our activities.
You cannot blame the platform as they need money to offer services without any subscription cost. However, the forced advertisement often leads us to spend unnecessarily. We are reminded of the incomplete conversation or transactions during the break time.
- Feeling of Inclusiveness
Humans are attracted towards the large social groups with some tempting traits. These days, the materialistic world has created its social circle with some possessions. You feel inclusive in the group of friends or some people with the same interest if you own the same things.
This is a needless purchase that could have easily avoided in the absence of social media. You don’t need the fancy coupe if you want to start a family in future. Instead, invest in the right vehicle with small car loans for bad credit under the right guidance.
- Imitation Spending
Your neighbour has a smart garage doesn’t mean you should have one. Your financial situation, goals, and priorities are all different from other people. Also, these people rarely discuss a bad investment due to the fear of embarrassment.
Social media is full of people who just buy stuff only to share it with other people. The unknown imitation causes you to buy the same product overlooking the logical arguments. The imitation spending is the reason brands pay the content creator good money for using their products.
Another Temptation
In the end, social media is another source of temptation for consumers that leads to unnecessary buying. The majority of the times only the positives are projected to overshadow the negatives, mainly logic and budget though you will find some great deals on the essentials.
There are pros and cons of the platform and its impact on the finances. However, it is recommended to limit its use if you are tight on budget. There is no pleasure in watching the known faces use some products you want.
