Living life with a filter
We are in an age where technology is constantly at our fingertips, and so is the power of purchase. With the availability of a purchase almost immediately accessible, it becomes harder restraining from buying items that lean more toward ‘wants’ rather than ‘needs.’
Those of us born to Generation Z tend to believe in impressing the rest of the world with how cool we can look with a $70 smiley face crop top and how much was spent at the newest hole-in-the-wall coffee shop, when in reality developing healthy budget spending habits are overdue.
Marketers are focusing on Generation Z, ages 14-24 because the generation has the habit of believing it is more important to look like a baller rather than actually being one. Posting our latest and hottest trends on social media platforms such as Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Snap Chat not only boosts the stores’ brand by word-of-mouth, it brings a certain social satisfaction to the consumers who obtain positive feedback on their profiles about their latest purchase.
The Smart Social Blog, Spredfast, writes about the fact that Generation Z “commands $44 billion in buying power,” and how “by 2020, some reports project they’ll command nearly 40 percent of all consumer shopping.”
No wonder marketers are using their resources on targeting Generation Z. President of the HRC Retail Advisory, Farla Efros, explains why social media is an influencer in shopping by stating, “Prior to Generation Z making the purchase, they are looking for social acceptance front their peers.”
One example of Generation Z’s spending habits is Yeezy apparel. A plain t-shirt with holes throughout can sell for over $200 dollars, yet some people from the Gen Z population will still make this outrageously ridiculous purchase just to have the ability to show the world how much they can fit in with the Kanye West crowd by posting a picture wearing Yeezy on social media to generate a lot of likes, which then leads to a false sense of love.
There are day-to-day purchases that feed into Generation Z’s ‘need’ to enhance our social media presence as well. For example, Starbucks is one of the most expensive places to get beverages, yet a lot of Generation Zers will buy their daily intake of coffee, teas, etc. there in order to post on social media that they were at Starbucks.
Why? Because Starbucks is seen as one of the best places to go in America to get coffee, and posting about it proves that they are associated with the best.
The average Gen Z is already roughly $4,343 in debt, yet half of us are barely entering adulthood. There seems to be an invisible high standard on social media to receive likes. The better a post fits in with current trends and fads, the more likes on social media the post will climb and the greater the poster’s sense of self-worth is validated.
As a whole, people generally associate likes on social media with making them feel that they fit in and are being accepted. When in reality, this illusion leads to a false sense of love and acceptance.
If major social media platforms took away the ability to see how many likes are on a post, it would change how businesses market to consumers drastically. It is almost vital for most of Gen Z to have the ability to post about their purchases and make sure that they receive positive feedback to reinforce that they did, in fact, make a good purchase. Social media drastically plays a part in Gen Z’s spending habits due to the need to feel loved and envied.
Because Generation Z’s spending patterns correlate with our posting material, too many of us are more concerned about how we are perceived rather than living within our means. Generation Z seems to be living our lives through a filter. A social media filter. We are trading our financial security for a false set of values.
