FIGHT the FEAR
Toronto Star|July 08, 2024
Social media is worsening money dysmorphia an irrational insecurity around one's finances - among younger generations. Here's how to gain control
SRIVINDHYA KOLLURU
FIGHT the FEAR

Kahlan Thomson describes her upbringing as stable. Her parents helped pay her tuition throughout university, but she was responsible for rent and activities. Now, she earns a modest income working as a social media engagement specialist in Toronto.

Thomson, 27, considers herself to be smart with her money. “But despite planning to the best of my ability — whether that be getting a financial adviser or budgeting — it feels like a one-step forward, two-steps back sort of ordeal due to the high cost of living.”

According to FP Canada’s 2024 Financial Stress Index, 44 per cent of respondents cited finances as their biggest stressor, up from 40 per cent in 2023 and 38 per cent in 2022. Higher grocery prices, inflation and housing-related costs were some of the main contributors to financial stress and anxiety, exacerbated among Canadians younger than 35.

These stressors, combined with endless scrolling on social media, has given rise to “money dysmorphia” among younger generations. While it’s not a clinical diagnosis, money dysmorphia is characterized by an irrational insecurity around one’s finances, describing the distance between an individual’s perceived financial status and their actual financial reality.

(The term borrows its name from body dysmorphia, which is characterized by constant anxiety about one’s physical appearance.) According to experts, young Canadians can avoid falling into the comparison trap and exacerbating their fears they’re falling behind, even if they’re on solid financial ground by setting clear financial goals for themselves and monitoring their social media habits.

Getting a handle on money dysmorphia

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة July 08, 2024 من Toronto Star.

اشترك في Magzter GOLD للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة July 08, 2024 من Toronto Star.

اشترك في Magzter GOLD للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

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