Social media is the primary cause of unrealistic expectations in regards to one’s wealth and quality of life. The influence of social media on its users’ everyday lives is a significant problem of the current age. People of different communities and social statuses are able to observe the details of others’ lifestyles. Consequently, users are influenced by popular culture, which dictates that wealth is easily accumulated in the current economic environment. This paper examines why social media is becoming a tool to construct unreasonable expectations through an examination of relevant literary sources.
In order to support the discussion, the present work relies on three primary arguments. First of all, social media utilizes the potential of the Internet, glamorizing the idea of easy wealth in the sphere of self-employment (Stokes & Price, 2017). According to such principles, digital capitalism presents immense opportunities to earn more with even fewer efforts. Second, the presentation of the ideas promoted in social media suggests that it is an axiom rather than a possibility (Russo & Simeone, 2017). It is stated that wealth is a guaranteed norm with a sufficient attitude. Finally, social media posts rely on the examples of prominent figures who have accumulated their wealth rather quickly (Tiggemann & Anderberg, 2017). However, none of these resources address the additional factors, which may have contributed to the process and which an average user may lack.
As the topic is controversial, opposing views are to be considered, as well. Today’s digitalized capitalist economy is said to be a favorable environment for private entrepreneurship and freelance markets. This sphere possesses immense opportunities in terms of personal wealth accumulation (Van der Zwan et al., 2020). Next, this idea’s proponents state that they acknowledge the possibility rather than impose the necessity of a certain lifestyle (Balkeran, 2020). While these points may have merit, further findings suggest that the promotion of unrealistic ideas is related to the social media sphere rather than the natural economic processes. The existence of digital opportunities does not eliminate the possibility of failure or other non-favorable outcomes, including stress and burnout, posing additional impediments to success (Valcour, 2016). The examined “hustle culture” discourse is rather imposing in nature, as it suggests the superior status of self-employment and wealth. As such, the influence of social media on unrealistic financial expectations of individuals appears considerable.
Proper investigation of topics presented requires an understanding of the main terms and ideas discussed. First of all, it is necessary to outline that the working definition of “social media” for this research is derived from Duffett (2017), who states that social media pertains to the applications and systems based on Web 2.0. As for the notion of unrealistic expectations, it refers to the person’s lack of ability to critically ascertain the possibility of certain outcomes (Heidhues et al., 2018). Finally, “hustle culture” is described by Sessions et al. (2020) as the dedication towards work. This phenomenon is evident in the individuals’ constant involvement in professional tasks.
Discussion of Sources
Balkeran, A. (2020). Hustle culture and the implications for our workforce [Master’s thesis, Baruch College, The City University of New York]. CUNY Academic Works.
The first work reviewed study was written by Balkeran (2020). The author evaluates how “hustle culture” impacts the employees’ engagement in their tasks. This paper’s significant finding suggests that workers tend to change their working overload preferences if a “hustle culture” environment is present. It appears that upholding a culture dedicated to overachieving may substantially impact the person’s views regarding wealth accumulation, supporting the general argument of social media’s influence on the lifestyle of its user. This work was published by CUNY Bernard M. Baruch College, a credible institution related to the fields of corporate communications, suggesting that the study is highly reliable.
Benamar L., Balagué C. & Ghassany M. (2017). The identification and influence of social roles in a social media product community. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 22(6), 337-362.
The second resource chosen for this work was written by Benamar et al. (2017), who investigate the social media community in connection to social roles. The results show that individuals may change their original behavior patterns when interacting with social media platforms. The article is beneficial to my investigation, as it suggests that recipients of social media information receive incorrect data stating that monetary success is an easy process. The work was distributed by the Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, a highly-praised scholarly institution connected to the spheres of social interaction and the digital world.
Russo, C., & Simeone, M. (2017). The growing influence of social and digital media. British Food Journal, 199(8), 55-67.
An important reference used was created by Russo and Simeone (2017), who ascertain the general influence of social and digital media on the behavior of its users. The authors present a theoretical model which explains the distribution services’ impact on the consumers’ knowledge. This result is imperative for my study, indicating that social media pressures the users to consume the agenda of self-employment being an affluent way of generating wealth. The idea is going to be the basis for the further discussion of the unrealistic projection associated with the self-employment sphere. The mentioned article belongs to the British Food Journal, a trustworthy establishment related to multiple fields of food consumption.
Stokes, J., & Price, B. (2017). Social media, visual culture, and contemporary identity. The Open Cybernetics & Systemics Journal, 41(2), 1-16.
Another important work was presented by Stokes and Price (2017), who further explain the significance of social media in the production of common contemporary identity. The work was published by The Open Cybernetics & Systemics Journal, a reputable academic source. The authors argue that social learning theory can be implemented to evaluate social media’s influence on identity construction. Social media shapes various visual representations, causing identity shifts. While positive consequences of this process are mentioned, an adverse outcome is believed to be the altercations in standards of reality. The source is especially beneficial for the discussion, supporting the idea that social media presents easy wealth as a norm rather than a possibility, disregarding the chances of a different outcome.
Tiggemann, M., & Anderberg, I. (2020). Social media is not real: The effect of “Instagram vs reality” images on women’s social comparison and body image. New Media & Society, 22(12), 2183–2199.
Strong findings were offered by Tiggemann and Anderberg (2020), elaborating on the concept of reality when compared with social media expectations. The authors examine the notion of idealistic perceptions involving participants’ impressions of various figures. The data investigated shows that people tend to believe the stories they encounter on the Internet, rarely questioning their plausibility. The article supports the argument that examples and stories portray a believable picture for the consumer, who becomes less capable of judging the rationale behind it. As a result, alternative, unsuccessful outcomes are disregarded by the users.
Valcour, M. (2016). 4 Steps to beating burnout. Harvard Business Review.
The work was published in Harvard Business Review, a reputable source of articles about related strategies and human resources. Valcour (2016) presented an immensely relevant work, which describes the central strategies of overcoming extreme work pressure. The writer discusses various methods of battling psychological tension at work rooted in the adopted “hustle culture” mindset. It is important to underline the research’s contribution to my proposal, is it examines the negative consequences of “hustle culture,” often unnoticed by an ordinary reader. It also suggests that the economic environment is more complex than social media portrays it.
Van der Zwan, P., Hessels, J. & Burger, M. (2020). Happy free willies? Investigating the relationship between freelancing and subjective well-being. Small Business Economics, 55, 475-491.
The last reference used is an analysis conducted by Van der Zwan et al. (2020), who explores the connection between well-being and self-employment. The data states that self-employed individuals are less concerned with leisure and quality of life and are generally healthier. Nevertheless, the public often admits the disadvantages of uncertainty and temporality, which can primarily affect an individual’s well-being in the long term. In other words, this sphere lacks stability, making the wealth accumulation projections not guaranteed. The resource underlines the main arguments for and against freelancing, providing empirical evidence for small businesses’ glamorization.
References
Balkeran, A. (2020). Hustle culture and the implications for our workforce [Master’s thesis, Baruch College, The City University of New York]. CUNY Academic Works. Web.
Benamar L., Balagué C. & Ghassany M. (2017). The identification and influence of social roles in a social media product community. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 22(6), 337-362.
Duffett, R. G. (2017). Influence of social media marketing communications on young consumers’ attitudes. Young Consumers, 18(1), 19–39.
Heidhues, P., Kőszegi, B., & Strack, P. (2018). Unrealistic expectations and Mmsguided learning. Econometrica, 86(4), 1159–1214.
Russo, C., & Simeone, M. (2017). The growing influence of social and digital media. British Food Journal, 199(8), 55-67. Web.
Sessions, H., Nahrgang, J. D., Vaulont, M. J., Williams, R., & Bartels, A. L. (2020). Do the hustle! empowerment from side-hustles and its effects on full-time work performance. Academy of Management Journal, 64(1), 235–264.
Stokes, J., & Price, B. (2017). Social media, visual culture and contemporary identity. The Open Cybernetics & Systemics Journal, 41(2), 1-16. Web.
Tiggemann, M., & Anderberg, I. (2020). Social media is not real: The effect of “Instagram vs reality” images on women’s social comparison and body image. New Media & Society, 22(12), 2183–2199.
Valcour, Monique. (2016). 4 Steps to beating burnout. Harvard Business Review. Web.
Van der Zwan, P., Hessels, J. & Burger, M. (2020). Happy free willies? Investigating the relationship between freelancing and subjective well-being. Small Business Economics, 55, 475-491.