Social Media Becomes Millennial’s Achilles Heel

Social Media is becoming the Millennial generation’s achilles heel according to a survey done by Allianz. One in five workers is experiencing on-the-job depression compared to only 16% of Generation X’ers (those born 1961-1981) and Baby Boomers (those born from 1946-1960). But depression isn’t the only issue. 73% of Millennials (those born 1982-2000) report that they make purchases directly on their smartphones according to a study documented on Spredfast.

Paul Kelash, Vice President of Consumer Insights for Allianz Life says that Social Media allows people, specifically Millennials, to spend beyond what they can afford. “[This can create] long-term negative effects on [Millennial’s] finances if they aren’t careful” (Paul Kalash).

A survey released earlier this year from Allianz Life says that over half of Millennials say they’ve spent money they [didn’t plan] to because of something [a friend or public figure] promoted on social media. The generation is known to spend more time on social media than any other age group, which raises questions of concern for many. “New advancements such as the iPhone or an iPad have made millennials dependent on an object that has made us infatuated with ourselves” according to an article from Odyssey.

Social Media is a platform for individuals who want to express themselves through a lens. As creative as this can be, it also has the potential to be a springboard for negative comparison. As a generation of hunched backs, with eyes glued to a screen, Millennials are the first generation of the true digital age bringing many new and innovative ideas to the world, while creating a wealth of questions many aren’t able to answer yet.

Point Loma Nazarene University student, Marteen Castellon, junior in Physics Engineerings, says “[Millennials] work ethic isn’t as high as previous generations…I think a big Millennial thing is ‘work less, play more,’ so they’re not wanting to work as much, which results in not making as much money.”

As Millennials are opening new doors as the first digital age, they may be opening themselves to much more than what they can see.