I created a Snapchat account in 2014 or 2015 for God knows what reason. I did not go back to it until 2017 when I started working for ISMA. It is an NGO working in different countries to improve social media laws and regulations worldwide. Part of my job is to look into different cases involving social media and digital privacy breaches. I mostly study reports of social media platforms, who find loopholes in regulations to get away with a crime.

I read a lot of Snapchat related articles and news so I got back to it in 2017 to understand how it really works. There, I subscribed to a few news accounts, basically to get a gist of stories in 3 seconds. Snapchat started suggesting those stupid magazine accounts with their primary focus on Kardashians and similar celebrities. I opt. out of several such magazines day after day. But they still pop up. Eventually, I looked into a few of these account stories. Here is what I learned about the world in Snapchat:

1. There is a YouTuber who sells unicorn makeup for drag queens, he has made good money out of it. Seeing that he made money being a drag queen himself, many more guys followed his footsteps. Now there are too many of them on Snapchat. 
2. Kylie from Kardashian’s family is important now because she sells makeup. She is rich, so everything she does now is a BIG DEAL. Forget Warren Buffett or Bill Gates, they are just good for conspiracy theories.
3. VSCO is not just an app anymore – Humans have reproduced mini VSCOs. 
4. Slimes have accounts with millions of viewers. 
5. Everything on Snapchat is designed to trick consumers into buying more than what they need, have what they cannot afford, and live an unrealistic lifestyle out of the Richie-rich’s dream. 

Apart from every shady thing is going on in this market-driven social media platform. I’m still astonished at the influential strategy to sell bags at unreasonable prices. There are many stories about celebrities holding bags that “You must have”. And celebrities give a sneak peek at their closet full of bags they call “Investment”. I have seen biometric password protected closet doors for bags. And these bags could cost anywhere from USD$ 100,000 to 500,000. 

So why would these celebrities show off their big as accessory investments? After all, they don’t show us their bank balance or how they afford luxury? Well, their job is to show off branded bags, shoes, and cars to people who want to look as cool as those celebrities. Basically, If I cannot make the money that a celebrity does, I should buy the accessory that she/he has and look expensive. 

The economy is now so effed-up and new generation knows they cannot afford to invest in huge houses, buy luxury cars, or have a big family. The format of life has changed from job-car-house-family and knowing that you were loved to influencer-entrepreneur-accessories-die. However, the fact remains, small houses, small cars, small families, and overall minimal lifestyle is still possible. And that expensive bag is still a bag that will hold necessary items just like any ordinary $10 bag.

If you can afford something and like it, then buy it. But it does not need to be a business transaction. You can rather invest in market shares, short/long-term assets, skill learning, or traveling. The excessive and compulsive shopping has now been classified as a disorder, let’s not end up there.