Since downloading TikTok, I have spent so much money. I was never a spender. Typically, my only money went towards coffee and occasionally food but when it came to clothes, jewelry, and makeup, I never splurged unless it was something that I really wanted or needed. But that has unfortunately changed and I have a tiny problem with spending money, and I have noticed that it has happened since downloading TikTok.
One of the best parts about TikTok is its algorithm. It is a hyper specific algorithm meaning it is catered toward your likes and dislikes. I love going on it so much because my for you page is full of videos that I find entertaining and because of that I find myself doom scrolling. Because of this super specific content, it can entice you to spend more. So yes, the algorithm is fantastic but it is also detrimental to your wallet.
My for you page is full of makeup influencers and creators posting shopping hauls and testing out new products. If I see Mikayla Nogueira using a product and loving it then I feel like I need to have it. Not to mention that if a product goes viral and everyone in the comments wants to buy it, you as a consumer feel rushed and compelled to track it down before it sells out.
When I take a step back and look at the majority of my purchases, most of them were because of videos I saw on TikTok. Most of the purchases were items I didn’t need or didn’t even know about but bought because of how popular and viral it went on TikTok. TikTok makes it very easy to spend money. In most videos, if you head to the comments the creator has linked everything in the video with where to buy it. If you head to an influencer’s bio, you’ll find a link tree where they have links to their Amazon storefront so you can buy exactly what they use. There’s even a hashtag named #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt where a user can go and see every single popular or viral product that they can buy too. It seriously is a new problem that a lot of us are realizing. After talking with my friends, they find that they are feeling the same way but they don’t know what to do.
One solution to not let TikTok cause too much harm to your wallet is to move from being a passive consumer to a more active consumer. Here are some easy ideas to help accomplish that:
- Don’t save your card information on your phone.
If you make it easy to purchase things online then you will buy a lot more because of how simple it is to do. If you don’t have your card information saved on your phone and you have to get up out of bed and go get your wallet across the room, then that might be reason enough to deter you from buying anything.
- Wait 48-72 hours before purchasing something you saw on TikTok.
If you wait 2-3 days and don’t impulsively purchase something right after seeing it, you may forget all about it and not want it after all. If after 72 hours you can’t stop thinking about it, then maybe it isn’t an impulse buy and you should get it after all.
- Unfollow tempting accounts.
Some accounts are dedicated solely to shopping hauls. If this is too tempting, simply unfollow them so you no longer have the temptation to spend money every time you go on TikTok.
I am working towards being more of a mindful consumer and not letting TikTok take control of my wallet and I challenge you to do the same.