Young people are overspending online. How social media and ‘buy now, pay later’ apps play a big role. Action News Jax [Video]

Gen Z is the first age group to grow up with social media — and they might be the most likely to go into debt because of it.

Members of the generation born between 1997 and 2012 have recently been in the news for their transparency with money and showing how they’re trying to achieve their goals. But new data suggests they are also particularly susceptible to influencer marketing and targeted advertising, which have become ubiquitous across social media platforms — and have made purchasing easier with new technology and loan services designed to facilitate spending.

According to a survey released last month by LendingTree, 62% of Gen Z-ers feel pressure to spend money and keep up with people around them — compared with the national average of 32%. Additional data released in March by Credit Karma shows that the average Gen Z-er’s credit card debt is more than double that of millennials.

“It’s a phenomenon called ‘keeping up with the Joneses,’ …