Hare or tortoise? Slow and steady grows your wealth in fast-moving social media age

August 30, 2026 — 5:00am

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In a world where our brains have been rewired to want gratification instantly, the idea of taking a slow and steady approach to growing our wealth feels almost alien – especially when the power and sway of influencers and other online personalities are added to the mix.

After all, the more of our daily lives we show online, the more often we feel the pressure to be hitting milestones and levelling up. Whether that’s buying a new car, going on a nice holiday, wearing a new outfit or trying out a new cafe, life milestones have become content for capturing.

This is, in my opinion, one of the biggest negative side effects of social media. Sure, there are a lot of fun aspects and positives, but platforms such as Instagram, TikTok and Facebook have also become breeding grounds for comparison culture and, in the process, it’s made a situation where we’re constantly torn between being the hare or the tortoise with our money.

In part, we compare ourselves with other people because making the sensible financial decision that we know is right isn’t usually all that exciting. Even if you do get a dopamine hit from making a good decision, there’s no easy way to translate that into content that other people will find especially engaging.

And this is where the problem starts. Because who wants to save $5 by making coffee at home every morning when you could spend $8 ordering an Instagrammable matcha from a new cafe? Why would you bother putting $250 into your investment account to enjoy in 30 years’ time when you could look........

© The Age