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    1. Style

    Instagram has legit caused shopping disorders

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

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    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.

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    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.

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    Penny Goldstone
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    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.

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