Social Media and Your Debt | Pocket Byte #33

We live in a world where comparison is constant. Scroll through social media, walk into your office, or glance at your neighbor’s driveway, and the subtle weight of measuring yourself against others. Comparison has a cost. It shapes our decisions, warps our financial habits, and too often leaves us chasing a life that isn’t our own.

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Welcome back to

(00:00):
The Wealth Effect.
Today, we're talking about something
that feels harmless, almost invisible,
but has driven thousands of
people into financial ruin.
Comparison.
Specifically, the comparison that social
media plants into your mind every single
time you scroll.
Because comparison
isn't free.
And for many people, the cost shows up

(00:22):
in their credit card statement, in their
empty bank accounts, and their quiet
anxiety of living a
life they can't afford.
Let's fill
your pocket.
Comparison isn't
something new.
Seneca wrote that it is not the man who
has too little, but the man who craves
more that is poor.
Humans have always measured themselves

(00:44):
against their neighbors, their house,
their land, their
harvest, their clothing.
But here's the
new difference.
The neighbors used to
be the person next door.
But here's the
difference now.
The neighbors used to
be the person next door.
Now, the neighbors are the 7 billion
people with stage lives in your pocket.

(01:07):
Available every
second of the day.
Social media
is not reality.
It's just a
highlight reel.
Nobody posts their
credit card statements.
Nobody shows their
overdraft fees.
Nobody shows the nights they spend
crying because they can't make rent.
They show the vacations, the luxury car,
the designer handbags, and the rooftop

(01:30):
dinners with
friends.
You don't see the stress,
the debt, the fights at home.
You just see
the image.
You just see the
image in your head.
And your brain
seeks that status.
You think, I should
have that too.
And so you reach
into your wallet.
This is where the
cost kicks in.
You weren't planning to buy a new phone,

(01:51):
but your feed convinced
you that yours is outdated.
You weren't planning to go on that trip,
but you saw your friends in Mexico,
and suddenly it feels like
life is passing you by.
You weren't planning to upgrade your car,
but now that you see everyone in a Tesla
or a Mercedes, your Nissan
makes you feel like a failure.
One swipe at a time.

(02:12):
You're not
just scrolling.
You're spending.
And because most people don't
have the cash, they borrow it.
They pay to keep up with
others with their credit cards.
And that's the
cost of comparison.
And it's not just
financial debt.
It's psychological.
Every time you compare yourself,
you tell yourself, I am behind.

(02:33):
I'm not enough.
My life is
inadequate.
That message gets
heavier the more you see.
It eats at your confidence and pushes you
into purchases that you didn't even need.
Comparison doesn't just
drain your bank account.
It drains your joy.
This isn't
an accident.
Social media platforms are engineered to

(02:54):
keep you hooked by playing on your desire
for status.
They know comparison
drives engagement.
They know envy
feels scrolling.
They know that when you see someone else's
life, you stay glued, hoping for more,
wondering how
you measure up.
And every time you compare,
advertisers are waiting.

(03:15):
They slide in
with the solution.
Feel behind?
Buy this.
Feel inadequate?
Upgrade that.
The algorithm feeds
on your insecurity.
And the debt industry is
ready for your next purchase.
So how do you
break the cycle?
The first step
is perspective.
Social media is
not real life.
It's a show.

(03:35):
A stage.
A carefully
scripted life.
Every photo edited.
Every moment
handpicked.
What you're looking at is no
different than watching a drama on TV.
They aren't really
living that way.
They're just
performing.
Meanwhile, you're living
your life in real time.
With real
consequences.

(03:56):
Don't put yourself in a financial hole for
a quick story or a selfie
that vanishes in 24 hours.
Post it for people
that don't even care.
The second step
is reframing.
You can
still scroll.
You can still look.
But shift your lens.
Instead of thinking, I need
that right now to feel complete.
See it as, one day, I'd

(04:17):
love a kitchen like that.
As inspiration.
There's a world of difference between
saying, Wow, that's something I'd like to
work towards.
And, I need to swipe my card today because
what I already have isn't good enough.
The third step is to
return to your world.
Ask yourself, what

(04:37):
do I really want?
How do I want to spend my
time, my money, and my future?
Most people don't know
a thing about cars.
Yet they buy the fastest,
flashiest cars just to show off.
Maybe what they really wanted was
something reliable, feel efficient,
or comfortable.
But they chase
the applause.

(04:58):
Don't let someone else's highlight reel
tell you what should matter in your life.
And finally,
status.
You can't buy it.
Well, not really.
You can pay to have it for a
moment with a luxury purchase.
But the second you stop feeding
that cycle, it disappears.
Real status, real respect, comes from

(05:19):
values, consistency, and
actually building something.
The kind of status that doesn't
vanish when the applause stops.
The cost of
comparison is real.
And it shows up in your debt, in your
stress, and in that quiet fear that you're
not enough.
But you are.
You don't need another

(05:40):
car to prove it.
You don't need
another vacation.
You don't need to mirror someone else's
highlight reel to live a good life.
The richest people aren't
those who look wealthy online.
The richest people are
those who are free.
Free from envy, from debt, and from
the endless scroll of inadequacy.
Until next time.