The relationship between social media influence and debt cannot be underplayed.
This came out of a panel discussion about savings at the launch of National Savings Month, July, in Sandton on Wednesday.
One of the biggest and most damaging things is the misrepresentation of money, access and wealth on social media, said Gerald Mwandiambira, acting chief executive of the South African Savings Institute.
You'll get exhausted if you use Twitter standards to live your life. Eat your cabbage & pap, drink Ricoffy, buy cheap sparkling wine & enjoy it like Moët. Look out for SALES. Wear your Cotton On & Mr Price with pride & manage your relationship the best way you see fit. Just LIVE.
— Spitch Nzawumbi (@SpitchNzawumbi) June 26, 2018
Mwandiambira challenged particularly prominent people on social media to be more responsible with the messages they communicate around money and success.
"We want responsible broadcasting on social media," he said, "and if we have more social media responsibility and sensitivity, we are going to start going in the right direction. Otherwise, people will keep thinking that everything they see is reality."
It's a shame how too many people are getting lost in the sauce. Be true to yourself. Have the right people around you. Let's not conform to this fake Instagram lifestyle. You will get into debt and have no real ones to help you. 😔
— Blessing Boyega (@BlessingBoyega) April 5, 2018
In a recent Instagram trend under the hashtag thegramsham, former YoTV presenter and actor Lumko Johnson shared with his followers how a few years ago he irresponsibly blew R30,000 in one weekend, to portray a certain lifestyle on the social media network.
"I spent all day recalling what I'd spent all that money on, how I'm going to cover my bills and why the f**k was I so irresponsible? I later found out why: I wanted to fit into a realm and level I hadn't reached yet ... I wanted to showcase a 'lifestyle' on my gram. I wanted those friends to think I lived that way daily," he wrote on Instagram.
People need to realise that Instagram might not clearly capture people's lives, pointed out Dr Lesego Rametsi, group head of health and wellness at the Barclays Africa Group.
She encouraged South Africans on social media to allow their value systems to guide them, instead of other people's lives and appearance of "success".
If social media drives the type of behaviour that you do not want for yourself, then maybe social media is not for you.
"We all live and die by our values, so if you know what your value system is, you have to be true to yourself. If social media drives the type of behaviour that you do not want for yourself, then maybe social media is not for you," said Rametsi.
Wealth coach Samke Mhlongo pointed out the need to understand why people equate success with material acquisitions and why some feel the need to show it off, saying that it might be influenced by more than social media envy.
"We need to understand why they need to be seen in a Mercedes Benz," said Mhlongo. "If you don't understand why your client needs to be seen in that car, you can't possibly assist them."
The challenge she shared was about redesigning the narrative around success. "How can we send the same message if you are successful, in a way that is financially sustainable?"
Money is not the only currency of success. Good health, peacefulness, a sense of belonging and a stabile home indicate high success. #wellness#inspiration
— Eugene Oppelt (@eugene_oppelt) June 27, 2018
According to Mhlongo, one of the main challenges is a lack of patience and prioritisation. "It's about the efficient allocation of limited resources, and the trade-off — to say I'd rather have this than that but people want to have this and that (at the same time) — that's where the problem lies."
The task ahead, therefore, will be to understand people's aspirations and make sure that they achieve them in the most responsible way, concluded Rametsi, and a timeline not measured by what people see on social media.
And just in case you've found yourself trying to keep up with social media representations of success, here are some golden rules that may help you avoid additional debt:
1. Limit social media if you can't control the envy, or stay away.
2. Don't spend on a whim, or on items for which you haven't budgeted.
3. Say no, and mean it.