Marie Claire UK Marie Claire UK
  • Fashion Fashion
      • Fashion
        • View all Fashion
        • Fashion Trends
        • Shopping
        • Watches and Jewellery
        • Fashion News
  • Beauty Beauty
      • Beauty
        • View all Beauty
        • Fragrance
        • Hair
        • Make Up
        • Skincare
        • Nails
        • Marie Claire Beauty Awards
  • Health Health
      • Health
        • View all Health
        • Fitness
        • Nutrition
        • Female Health
        • Wellbeing
  • Life Life
      • Life
        • View all Life
        • Opinions
        • Travel
        • Sustainability
        • Weddings
        • Money & Work
        • Competitions
  • Culture Culture
      • Culture
        • View all Culture
        • TV and Film
        • Celebrity News
        • Books
        • Royal News
  • Vouchers Vouchers
      • Clothing
        • View all Vouchers
        • Mint Velvet
        • Karen Millen
        • H&M
        • nobody's child
        • ASOS
        • ARKET
        • MANGO
      • Designer Clothing
        • View all Vouchers
        • Reiss
        • THE OUTNET
        • SSENSE
        • Mytheresa
        • Liberty London
        • Selfridges
        • Farfetch
      • Accessories
        • View all Vouchers
        • AllSaints
        • Aspinal of London
        • Charles & Keith
        • River Island
        • FitFlop
        • Kate Spade
        • Vagabond
      • Jewellery
        • View all Vouchers
        • Pandora
        • Abbott Lyon
        • Goldsmiths
        • Beaverbrooks
        • Astrid & Miyu
        • Swarovski
        • Angara Jewellery
      • Beauty
        • View all Vouchers
        • Sephora
        • Cult Beauty
        • Space NK
        • Dyson
        • Clarins
        • Look Fantastic
        • Clinique
      • Activewear
        • View all Vouchers
        • Lululemon
        • Gymshark
        • Sweaty Betty
        • Nike
        • adidas
        • New Balance
        • Helly Hansen
  • NEWSLETTER Signup to our newsletter
  • logoCreated with Sketch.
    Marie Claire Newsletter

    Celebrity news, beauty, fashion advice, and fascinating features, delivered straight to your inbox!


    By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

    You are now subscribed

    Your newsletter sign-up was successful


    An account already exists for this email address, please log in.
    Trending
    • Women in Sport 2026
    • Marie Claire Masters
    • Spring Summer 2026
    • Nail Trends 2026
    • Best Investment Bags
    • Best Perfumes
    • Digital Issues
    • Women Who Win
    1. Style

    Instagram has legit caused shopping disorders

    Penny Goldstone's avatar
    By Penny Goldstone
    Published 11 September 2018 In News

    When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

    • Facebook
    • X
    • Pinterest
    Share this article
    Join the conversation
    Follow us
    Add us as a preferred source on Google
    Subscribe to our newsletter

    We all know Instagram is one of the worst social media apps for mental health, with recent studies showing that almost 90% (!) of millennials tend to compare their lifestyle or wealth to others on the app.

    And as well as impacting your mood, you probably won't be surprised to hear that it's impacting your bank account too. The problem is that to keep up with the Joneses, we are parting with more cash than we've intended, made all the more easy by IG's shopping feature.

    I'll be honest, I've definitely increased my spending, mainly because I follow so many fashion influencers and often can't resist a bag or pair of shoes they've so handily linked to. Whilst I don't have a figure to show you, I would say it has probably doubled. Easily.

    Except a click here and a click there all adds up, and not can't my finances keep up, but my wardrobe - as my husband so kindly keeps pointing out - is bursting to the seems.

    Whilst I've managed to not get myself into debt, others haven't been so lucky: one shopaholic reported spending $98,000 in six months (admittedly not just from Instagram), while another spent $10,000 to have the perfect Instagram feed.

    You may like
    • Treatment Stacking “I've Spent More on Tweakments Than on Two Long-Haul Holidays”—How Treatment Stacking Became the New Normal
    • A woman holding her purse 3 Signs Your Wellness Habits Are Making You Financially Sick, According to a Financial Advisor
    • Freelancer Ash S swapping wellness spending for therapy I Cut Back on Studio Pilates, Expensive Salads and Skincare in Favour of Weekly Therapy—Nine Months On, My Honest Thoughts

    Add to that the fact that some influencers are allegedly buying clothes for their #ootd posts and the returning them to stores, it's all looking a bit bleak.

    And if you're an Insta shopaholic, I have more bad (or good news depending on how you look at it) for you, because there are rumours the platform is looking into expanding its e-commerce section.

    Marie Claire Newsletter

    Celebrity news, beauty, fashion advice, and fascinating features, delivered straight to your inbox!

    By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

    You have been warned.

    Penny Goldstone
    Penny Goldstone
    Social Links Navigation
    Contributing Fashion Editor

    Penny Goldstone is the Contributing Fashion Editor at Marie Claire UK. She writes about catwalk trends and the latest high street and Instagram sartorial must-haves. She also helms the Women Who Win franchise.

    She has worked in fashion for over 10 years, contributing to publications such as Cosmopolitan, Red, Good Housekeeping, and Stylist.

    Read more
    Treatment Stacking
    Beauty “I've Spent More on Tweakments Than on Two Long-Haul Holidays”—How Treatment Stacking Became the New Normal
    A woman holding her purse
    Wellbeing 3 Signs Your Wellness Habits Are Making You Financially Sick, According to a Financial Advisor
     
     
    Freelancer Ash S swapping wellness spending for therapy
    Wellbeing I Cut Back on Studio Pilates, Expensive Salads and Skincare in Favour of Weekly Therapy—Nine Months On, My Honest Thoughts
    Zara shopping hacks
    Fashion The Zara Shopping Hacks You Need to Know, Plus 15 New-In Pieces Guaranteed to Sell Out
     
     
    Latest in Style
    Poppy Wang
    Fashion 5 Experts Explain the Nuances of the ‘Mandarin Jacket’ Trend
    AW26 Shoe Trends
    Shopping From Heeled Loafers to Square Toes and Lace-Up Courts, Consider This Your Guide to Autumn's Defining Shoe Trends
     
     
    Eva Omaghomi
    Fashion After 17 years in the Royal Household, Eva Omaghomi Talks Bringing African Design Talent to Harrods
    Jodie Comer
    Shopping Jodie Comer Just Announced the Start of Knee-High Boots Season
     
     
    Latest in News
    The Beauty Digest: New Products to Know
    Beauty The Beauty Digest: A Foundation With Infinite Shades, Diptyque Does Bodycare, and the Exhibition Every Beauty Lover Should See
    Eva Omaghomi
    Fashion After 17 years in the Royal Household, Eva Omaghomi Talks Bringing African Design Talent to Harrods
     
     
    New Beauty Products: The Beauty Digest
    Beauty The Beauty Digest: Dyson Does Teeth, Fenty Rips Up the Rulebook (Again) and a Surprisingly Fragrant Week for Dogs
    Jodie Comer
    Shopping Jodie Comer Just Announced the Start of Knee-High Boots Season
     
     
    logoCreated with Sketch.
    • Site Archive
    • Contact Future's experts
    • Contact us
    • Terms and conditions
    • Advertise with us
    • Privacy policy
    • Cookies policy
    • About us
    Add as a preferred source on Google Add as a preferred source on Google

    Marie Claire UK is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

    © Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.