Money dysmorphia: why people think they're poorer than they are

The young are more likely to have distorted perceptions of their finances driven, in part, by social media

Photo composite illustration of hands opening a wallet to find nothing and also piles of paper money
Researchers have found that people are much more likely to underestimate their earnings than to overestimate or have a realistic assessment of them
(Image credit: Illustration by Stephen Kelly / Getty Images)

Most people experience money worries at some point in their life, but money dysmorphia is "a different ball game" altogether, said CNBC.

A "sibling" of the term "body dysmorphia", where people look in the mirror and don't see "what's really there", money dysmorphia is a "mind-bending split-screen view of reality", said The New York Times. Many people, especially the young, are "plagued by pangs of economic self-doubt" and anxiety that they "can't keep up with the Joneses (and what the Joneses are posting on Instagram)".

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