Social media promises that the next scroll will bring the exact thing that’ll finally fix your life. Spoiler: it usually doesn’t. Nearly half of social media users say they’ve impulsively bought something they saw online, and those impulse buys add up. In the U.S., the average social-media-inspired impulse buyer spends about $754 a year on those purchases.
In India, social networks are now a major product-discovery channel, with more than two-thirds of shoppers leaning on social media for recommendations. Household spending on non-food items is also rising, showing how consumption is shifting beyond basics. That combination makes the country fertile ground for both influencer marketing and impulse traps.
Why Our Thumbs Cost Us Money
Scroll > like > ad > checkout. That pipeline isn’t accidental; it’s a conversion machine. Surveys show nearly half of users have bought after seeing something on social platforms; many later regret it. The platforms, the checkout buttons, BNPL options, and festival sales form a perfect purse-emptying storm.
In India, the rise of digital payments and buy-now-pay-later services has turbocharged online buying, making impulse purchases easier for cash-strapped youngsters who think “later” feels okay now. That makes deinfluencing less moralising and more practical: it’s about avoiding small bad choices that compound.
What Deinfluencing Actually Is
Deinfluencing is a tiny rebellion: creators telling you not to buy, or at least to think twice. On TikTok, the conversation around deinfluencing has blown up, with billions of views across related hashtags. This shows a widespread appetite for pushback against hype.
It’s not asceticism. Many deinfluencers simply ask, “Did you want this before it was marketed to you?” The point is to move from reflex to reflection. In India, where festivals and seasonal sales create shopping fever, a pause can save more than money; it saves your financial plans.
Small Rules That Change The Maths
The classic “wait 48 hours” trick works because urgency is a marketing tool. Data show that lots of impulse shoppers spend significant sums annually; pausing trims those spikes. Even skipping two impulse buys a month, tiny things like a viral gadget or a must-have serum, compound into real savings over a year.
Also, curate your feed. Unfollow accounts that make you itch to spend. Reddit threads from Indian beauty and frugality communities are full of people asking others to de-influence them. People recommend spreadsheets, lists of owned items, and rules like “one purchase per week” to beat the algorithm.
Money And Mind
There’s a mental health angle too. Therapists note that pausing before buying reduces stress and restores control; buying under pressure gives a short rush and a long regret. Nicholette Leanza, a psychotherapist at LifeStance Health, frames it simply: a breath before the buy gives you power over your money, not the other way round.
In India, where family expectations and festival consumerism create social pressure, spending decisions often carry emotional weight beyond the price tag. Mindful spending becomes a practice that protects relationships, reduces household tension, and teaches children better money habits, small cultural wins with long horizons.
Also Read: Are All Influencers Actually Earning? Let’s Find Out
Consumption Is Big (And Growing)
Household consumption is a major slice of India’s GDP, recently hovering around 60%, and non-food spending (clothes, transport, entertainment) is rising in both urban and rural pockets. That means more discretionary money is chasing more things, and the impulse economy grows with it.
At the same time, digital payments, deeper e-commerce penetration, and fast-growing BNPL services make buying frictionless. A market measured in tens of billions for BNPL shows why small purchases scale into big economic signals, and why resisting tiny nudges matters for long-term financial health.
How Families And Culture Can Fight Back
Talk money at the dinner table. When parents name goals, an emergency fund, a home deposit; travel, and impulse buys stop being private temptations and become family choices. Indian households that model mindful spending hand younger members the ability to say “no” to a hyped haul. That’s how habits become culture.
Policy and platforms matter too: clearer disclosure of affiliate links, better BNPL regulation, and smarter ad-controls would help. But until the policy folks finish their paperwork, individual practice, pause, curate, and budget is the toolkit that actually saves rupees. Simple, effective, low drama. Which is exactly how good finance should feel.
Consumerism Can Take You Everywhere Except Where You Want to Go
Buying things rarely buys joy for long. Much of what fills our feeds and homes is designed to be replaced by the next shiny thing. Deinfluencing doesn’t ask you to become a monk. It asks for curiosity instead of reflex. Pause. Ask if the buy aligns with goals. Muting an influencer may be the easiest form of therapy you ever tried.
Follow these tiny rules, and your money will quietly do what you trained it to: fund experiences, safety nets, and projects that matter. That’s where long-lasting happiness quietly waits, not in limited-stock slippers or a viral gadget. Save a little. Smile more. Tell your younger self thank you later.
Images: Google Images
Sources: The Indian Express, The Economic Times, The Times Of India
Find the blogger: Katyayani Joshi
This post is tagged under: deinfluencing, mindful spending, conscious consumerism, social media culture, influencer economy, impulse buying, money habits, financial literacy india, digital consumerism, underconsumption, save money smarter, mental health and money, social media detox, financial fomo, indian millennials, gen z india, spending psychology, consumer awareness, ethical consumption, slow living mindset
Disclaimer: We do not hold any right, copyright over any of the images used, these have been taken from Google. In case of credits or removal, the owner may kindly mail us.
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