Millennials are becoming increasingly broke and miserable, and one could guess that the huge student loan debt so many have burdened themselves with could be part of the problem.  But it isn’t just that; Millennials have fallen victim to conditioned behaviors and are addicted to keeping up with their peers.

Social media is playing a huge role in the life of millennials. Their generation spends more time on social media than older generations: People ages 25-34 spend 141 minutes per day on it, versus 105 for the 35-44 set. And that could be hurting both their finances and mental health and driving their brainwashed desire to consume hate-filled news and products they don’t need with debt.

“Social media has become the millennials’ financial Achilles Heel.” — Allianz Life 2018 survey

https://www.shtfplan.com/headline-news/americans-are-financially-and-mentally-unstable-crippling-debt-is-linked-to-chronic-depression_04182019

Millellinials are making incredibly poor financial decisions because of social media. Indeed, nearly half of millennials (49%) say that their spending habits have been influenced by the photos and experiences their friends share on social media, compared with only about one-third of Americans in general, according to a data survey of more than 1,000 Americans by financial firm Charles Schwab.

Other surveys have uncovered similar trends. And even though millennials know they are making poor financial decisions, they continue to do so while blaming “capitalism” and “the rich” for the problems created by themselves.  Roughly two in three millennials think that social media has a negative impact on their financial well-being, according to a 2018 survey of more than 2,000 millennials from financial firm Fidelity. Data released in 2018 by mobile bank firm Varo Money found that 53% of millennials admit to buying something they saw advertised on social media. And a 2018 survey from Allianz Life shows that more than half of millennials (57%, versus just 28% of Gen Xers and 7% of boomers) say they’ve spent money they hadn’t planned to because of something they saw on social media.

Sadly, millennials are doing this to themselves. This generation feels required to keep up with their friends. According to Market Watch, social media also makes 61% of millennials (versus just 35% of Gen Xers and 12% of boomers) feel inadequate about their own life and what they have, with 88% comparing themselves to others on social media (compared to just 71% of Gen Xers and 54% of boomers who say the same), according to the Allianz data.

“More than any other generation, social media, and the allure to spend beyond their means could have long-term negative effects on [Millennials’] finances if they’re not careful.” Social media is not only impacting the wallets of millennials but their mental health as well.

Younger adults who use social media a lot are at a higher risk of depression, and people who use many different social media sites are at higher risk for anxiety and depression. What’s more, the more time people spend on social media, the more likely it is they feel socially isolated — with people who spend more than two hours swiping through social media sites nearly doubling their risk of feeling socially isolated. –Market Watch

When the feeling of hopelessness sets in, there no longer remains a desire to change behaviors or correct that which is wrong.  And hopelessness is not rare in our society anymore.