Social media isn’t just for cat videos and endless scrolling through brunch photos. Whether we like it or not, those innocent-looking apps are quietly shaping our relationship with money, for better or worse. Here are six ways your favourite platforms might be influencing your financial decisions.
1. The Motivation Factor
Following financial experts and success stories on social media can spark positive changes in our money habits. Seeing others achieve their financial goals might inspire us to start investing, build an emergency fund, or finally tackle that debt. Whether they help you find the best office for lease in Abbotsford or establish a creative studio in Byron Bay, influencers can also clue you in on insider secrets you’d struggle to uncover on your own.
Of course, like all good things, this seemingly helpful motivation often masks a darker side: FOMO-driven decision-making. When everyone’s talking about the latest cryptocurrency or hot stock pick, it’s tempting to jump in without proper research. That rush to avoid missing out has led many down the path of hasty investments and painful losses. So, it’s always worth taking the time to think through any ideas you get from social media.
2. Learning on the Fly
The democratisation of financial education through social media has opened up unprecedented access to money management knowledge. From detailed budget-tracking tutorials to investment strategy breakdowns, there’s a wealth of free information at our fingertips.
But here’s the catch: the platform’s low barrier to entry means anyone can position themselves as a financial expert.
That 19-year-old “guru” showing off their Lamborghini might have inherited wealth, gotten lucky with one trade, or worse—be running a scam. The challenge lies in separating genuine expertise from well-packaged nonsense.
3. Community Support
Finding your financial tribe on social media can be transformative. These platforms enable us to connect with people sharing similar money goals, whether it’s paying off student loans or saving for a house. The accountability and encouragement from these communities can help maintain momentum when motivation wanes.
However, these same communities can morph into echo chambers that normalise questionable financial behaviours. From extreme frugality to risky investment strategies, your group support can quickly turn into group reinforcement of potentially harmful money habits.
4. The Comparison Game
While social media can provide useful financial benchmarks through peer comparison, it’s a double-edged sword. Seeing contemporaries achieve milestones like homeownership or starting successful businesses might help calibrate our own goals and timelines. Yet these comparisons often ignore crucial context—family support, geographic advantages, or plain old luck. Before you know it, you’re booking that aspirational vacation your college roommate just posted about, conveniently forgetting that your financial situation might be vastly different from theirs.
5. Investment Trends
The real-time nature of social media makes it a powerful tool for tracking investment opportunities and market news. Being plugged into these conversations can help you spot emerging trends and understand market sentiment.
However, the pressure to act quickly on trending investments can lead to classic investing mistakes. The GameStop saga perfectly illustrates this dynamic—while some early movers profited handsomely, many latecomers learned expensive lessons about the dangers of following social media-driven investment hype.
6. Lifestyle Inflation
Social platforms can introduce us to genuinely useful products and services that improve our financial lives, from budgeting apps to investment tools. The problem arises when targeted advertising and influencer content blur the line between wants and needs. What starts as casual scrolling can evolve into a steady stream of purchase justifications, as algorithms serve up an endless parade of “must-have” items perfectly tailored to our interests and aspirations.
Beyond these direct influences, social media shapes our money mindset in subtle ways. The platforms themselves know exactly what they’re doing—their algorithms are designed to keep us engaged by triggering emotional responses about money, whether through anxiety about not saving enough or excitement about the next big investment opportunity.
The key to surviving this digital deluge lies in using social media as a tool in your financial arsenal, not as your primary financial advisor. After all, the most sustainable path to financial wellbeing rarely makes for viral content.
