
Borrowing for the ’Gram: How social media is driving young Indians into debt

Summary
- In an age where social media dictates lifestyles, young Indians are spending exorbitant sums on Coach bags and Coldplay tickets to maintain curated online personas, even if it means being mired in debt—a dangerous cycle of online validation fuelling hyper-consumerism.
Bengaluru: Recently, a marketing professional from Bengaluru was trying to buy a ticket to the Diljit Dosanjh concert. The young woman, who does not want her identity to be revealed, was eyeing a ₹3,000 ticket, but those sold out in minutes. Without batting an eyelid, she booked one in the ₹15,000 VIP section using her credit card.
The 23-year-old admits that she paid almost as much as her monthly rent, but believes her Instagram post on the show will make it all worthwhile. A quick scroll through the woman’s account reveals carefully crafted and aesthetically pleasing posts: Prada sunglasses make a regular appearance; other shots include impeccably tailored outfits that scream luxury and a New Year’s getaway in Thailand. It’s clear that maintaining this image is a priority for her, even if it means regularly ending the month broke or in debt.
While she wishes to be more disciplined with her payments—this year alone, she’s been hit with late payment fees twice by her credit card company—and more pragmatic in her purchases, she keeps succumbing to impulse shopping urges. “Like it or not, social media is the real deal for me and everyone in my social circle," says the Bathinda native, who moved to Bengaluru for work a year ago.
The young woman’s story, while troubling, is not uncommon. It reflects the rise of ‘social media debt’. Driven by the pressure to project a cool image online, young Indians are increasingly taking loans or using credit cards to fund a lifestyle curated for social media. From luxury vacations to pre-wedding shoots done solely for Instagram, youngsters chasing online validation are stuck in a dangerous cycle of hyper-consumerism fuelled by debt.
Shrishti Arora is another case in point. Between her friends and the influencers she follows on Instagram, Arora, a copywriter from Bengaluru, feels a compulsive need to follow a certain lifestyle. “My friends met up for coffee and posted a seemingly normal picture, except that everyone in it had Coach bags," says Arora, who found herself buying the luxury brand bag three days later. That purchase set her back by ₹36,000—Arora billed it to her credit card, as usual, and classified it as a ‘future me problem’.
“Once I had it (the bag), I flexed it on social media without making it seem like I would be stressed having to repay the cost," says the 28-year-old, admitting that she ends up going 30-35% above budget to appear cool on social media.
Mint spoke to 20 people in the 22-33 age group living in Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru, all of whom acknowledged that their spending habits were largely aimed at raising their social media game.
It’s a problem that affects young women and men alike. For a young employee of a software startup in Bengaluru, it started after a breakup. “I’m not a compulsive poster, but something in me shifted after a relationship ended—I felt the need to project my life on social media," says the 25-year-old, who does not want to be identified. He spent ₹19,000 on a Bryan Adams concert that he attended with his parents but left them out of his Instagram posts. The tech marketer says he isn’t fond of travel but is considering a trip to Spiti Valley, which might cost him ₹50,000 to post that one story, “a money shot".
While the reasons behind the pursuit of social media clout vary, there is one common thread in all the narratives: the compulsion to project a cool image online. Many find themselves striving to maintain this curated persona, even if it means living in debt.
The illusion of affluence
Sakshi Sindwani, a popular travel and lifestyle influencer with a large following of young Indians, has been posting a series of stunning photos and videos from a luxurious resort in Ko Samui, Thailand. She puts out multiple stories and posts on Instagram throughout the week, such as views of overwater bungalows, a private beach, a breakfast tray with tropical fruits in a swimming pool, all sponsored by the hotel and various luxury brands for swimwear, sunglasses and accessories. Her captions emphasize “body positivity", “healing" and the “importance of self-care".
Ridhi Jain, a 23-year-old graduate doing an advertising job in Mumbai, sees Sindwani’s posts and is instantly captivated. Jain has always dreamed of a tropical getaway but never thought it was within reach.

Sindwani, who posts relatable content, makes the vacation seem attainable. Jain checks the prices of similar resorts but realizes they are far beyond her current budget. Then she remembers seeing another ad on Instagram from Musafir, a travel company offering a “travel now, pay later" option. Taking that as a sign from the universe, Jain signs up, submits a dozen personal documents and is awaiting approval for a travel loan.
“My father advised me not to take a credit card so early in my career," Jain confides. “But this is an interest-free loan as long as I pay it back in six months," she says, justifying it as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and promising herself she’ll figure out the payments eventually.
Sindwani’s vacation is not only sponsored, she also gets paid by brands to feature their products. Jain, on the other hand, is working an entry-level job, and trying to manage her spending in one of India’s most expensive metro cities.
The influencer industry, which represents 11% of the digital media industry in India as of 2023, is expected to grow 25% annually from 2024 to 2026. Over 80% of brands are projected to allocate 30% of their marketing budgets to influencer marketing by 2028, according to an Influencer Marketing Report 2024 (IMR) by Social Beat.
Farzeen Ali, a social media consultant, says that brands are increasingly stressing on creatives to make relatable content appealing to the younger crowd. “Brands, irrespective of their offering, know that content is the way to drive purchases made on social media," she explains, adding that every business, ranging from lifestyle products to travel services, wants to capitalize on storytelling and entertainment.
Ali points out that travel companies romanticize certain destinations on social media using influencers to drive a travel boom to the destination. Case in point: Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan.
In 2023, Indian tourism to Azerbaijan—a relatively uncommon destination touted by travel influencers as a budget alternative to Europe—surged, with a 93% increase in arrivals over the previous year. The momentum continued into 2024, with arrivals from India in the first half of the year exceeding their total number over all of 2023, the Azerbaijan Tourism Board had stated.

Harnidh Kaur, a content creator and head of WTfund, a non-equity grant fund for emerging entrepreneurs, argues that while influencers who have built para-social relationships with their audience should hold themselves to a certain moral standard with their audience, it is also in many ways an influencer’s job to sell aspirations. It’s a wicked cycle, she says, where influencers make money by selling aspirations, and the consumer of content ends up buying the product.
“The number of people I know living EMI to EMI is insane and these aren’t home loans. These are loans taken for vacations and iPhones," says Kaur, pointing out that this is particularly common among GenZ, who are chronically online and nihilistic in their approach. Kaur says that this generation does not see enough value in savings and investments and is willing to pay any price for experience.
No price is too high
Rithvi Somani, a compliance officer at Tavaga, a financial advisory startup that helps people achieve their financial goals, often finds herself caught in the same trap she advises against. She has been eyeing the ₹45,000 Dyson Airwrap hairstyling tool for a while now.
Somani highlights how internet platforms manipulate people using psychological tactics by creating a sense of urgency through manufactured virality and capitalizing on the fear of missing out. Once you’ve made a purchase, the platform doesn’t forget you. Your address is saved, your cards are pre-filled and targeted ads begin to flood your feed. The entire user experience is designed to be focused on convenience, making it effortless to make impulsive purchases.
“One minute you’re doom scrolling, watching an influencer casually mention their outfit’s brand or luxury bag details. Next minute, you’re entering an OTP to make a large purchase," she says.
The consumption drive in India fuelled by social media is not restricted to material goods alone. Post pandemic, there has been an increase in the experience economy. From sound baths to hugging trees, India’s metro consumers are readily shelling out money for manufactured experiences.
The biggest hit young Indian wallets took last year was from events and live concerts. BookMyShow, India’s largest ticket-selling platform, saw significant growth in FY24, with live events contributing a third (32%) of its overall revenue, reaching ₹454.7 crore. While online ticketing remained a major revenue driver, contributing 57.4%, the live events segment demonstrated impressive year-on-year growth of 91.5%, compared to the online ticketing segment’s 23.8% growth.
Live concerts by individual artists and bands, including Diljit Dosanjh, Dua Lipa, Coldplay and Bryan Adams, saw a massive spike in demand. Online forums buzzed with anticipation and ticket prices went through the roof. The frenzy also invited fake resellers and saw the emergence of services like BookMyFlex, which helps people pretend they attended by tagging them in photos and videos, highlighting the intense social pressure to be seen at these events.

“My inbox was filled with messages from people wanting to pay a huge commission for the tickets—if not Dosanjh, then Dua Lipa. If not in Mumbai, then in Ahmedabad," says Samarth Take, a marketing executive at a music company in Mumbai, who moonlights as a concert guide. A concert guide—a profession prevalent in Western countries and recently getting traction in India—provides insider tips, helps secure tickets and offers valuable information on the concert experience.
Take says that while he was surprised by the sudden popularity of concerts among young Indians, he says that he saw two kinds of audience: one group that genuinely appreciated the artist and their art, and the second one, which wanted to adopt concert-going as a lifestyle, driven by the social media induced fear of missing out.
Credit card debt
Aly Hajiani, a credit card consultant at Onepercent club, a financial literacy platform, helps people optimize their credit card usage. He emphasizes the importance of responsible usage, advising consumers to treat a credit card like a debit card—and use it only for purchases they can comfortably repay in full at the end of the month.
Hajiani has observed a shift in the spending habits of young people. “Earlier, the aspiration was to own the latest PlayStation," he says. “Now, it’s about unique experiences like offbeat travel and exclusive concerts."

Much of it, he explains, is driven by a desire to invest in memories and share these experiences on social media to build an online persona. As a consequence, the experience-driven economy is also fuelling credit card spending, says Hajiani.
The Indian credit card market has exploded in recent years. Once a symbol of financial freedom, it now looms over borrowers deep in debt. Defaults are on the rise, particularly among young adults.
As of June 2024, outstanding credit card balances reached nearly ₹2.7 trillion, a significant jump from ₹87,686 crore recorded in March 2019, according to data from credit bureau TransUnion Cibil. The data also indicates a rise in delinquencies, particularly among those with lower credit limits, suggesting that young Indians are struggling to keep up with their spending.
There has also been a surge in buy now pay later (BNPL) services for short term credit, offering instant gratification fuelled by social media. BNPL services, which are largely used by Indian consumers for electronics and fashion, are finding more avenues and teaming up with service providers and e-commerce platforms to integrate their services for customers short on funds.
“For our target demographic under 35, social media is a powerful tool to influence purchase decisions. We use these platforms to drive conversion-focused content," said a spokesperson for LazyPay, a BNPL service operated under PayU Finance. The company confirmed that 70% of its customer base is under the age of 35, with a healthy contribution of customers from tier 3 cities.
While LazyPay declined to share its delinquency rate, the spokesperson said that the company emphasized responsible lending practices by carefully evaluating each borrower’s ability to repay, ensuring they do not face an undue financial burden.
Travel-now-pay-later and marry-now-pay-later services also seem to be gaining traction, highlighting an overall credit preference trend among consumers.
However, the industry has faced headwinds of late. Rising interest rates and increasing bad debt have put pressure on BNPL companies, with some pivoting, while others, such as ZestMoney, have had to shut down.
Ritesh Srivastava, founder of Freed, a debt-relief platform, says that there is a significant need to raise awareness of credit and its usage among young Indians. Many people don’t completely understand how credit cards work, especially when it comes to things like the minimum due amount versus the total amount owed and how missing even one payment can impact their credit score.
“Most people fail to pay EMIs on unsecured loans, which are inherently laden with very high interest rates," says Srivastava. His company offers counselling services to consumers in debt.
Srivastava says that while India is on its way to becoming a credit-driven economy, there’s a looming risk of people getting into debt that they cannot repay. Young people are especially vulnerable, tempted to borrow for their wants rather than their needs. A debt-ridden young population, he says, can harm both borrowers and lenders and hinder the economy.