I was purchasing something yesterday from someone and he wanted a Venmo. I do have an acct but I rarely use it. I am aware that many people use it, in fact, it is kind of the “standard” for getting money to people if you aren’t using cash.

I have had a PayPal acct for many years, it’s always been a super easy way to move people money. It seems like Venmo got popular since social media is so popular and it’s almost an extension of social media.

Personally, I’m not a fan. It’s already annoying to go on social media and there are those certain few people that post a video “story” every single day. Even if it is just an outfit they are wearing, what they are eating or just to have a selfie and say “happy Wednesday”. It’s almost like these people think that no ones Day can be complete if they don’t see those “stories”. 🤦🏼‍♂️ (In some ways, it’s incredibly interesting that grown adults 30-50 yo think that they need to post something so trivial every single day and I also wonder if it some from a high level of insecurity?).

I know that some kids (maybe more so girls) already have a hard time with social media, seeing people do all kinds of things that they never get to do, new cars, vacations, and even worse, seeing your “friends” doing social things together that they were never invited to (working in young men’s and also having a couple daughters, I know these things can be hard). Now with Venmo, you get to see situations where you see people give money to others and the reason.

I guess an example might be “Sis Smith gave Susie $50 for babysitting”. I wonder if this stuff also effects teenagers as well? I can just hear other girls in the ward, “dang, I used to babysit for Sis Smith and she hasn’t called me lately, I guess she likes Susie more?” Or “I wonder if I did something wrong”. That type of offense can go on and on “The Smiths gave The Jones $100 for covering dinner last night”. The the thought being “dang, we use to go out with the Smiths and the Jones, I guess we aren’t included in those social date nights any more?”

My girls are pretty much grown, but dang, basic Facebook and the beginning of Instagram was bad enough, I can’t imagine how bad it is and how bad it is going to continue to get with every single aspect of peoples lives being publish for the world to see.

Back to the topic, it’s funny when I ask people why they use Venmo over PayPal and they always say how easy it is to use. I then open up my PayPal app and show them how it works and they always say, “ya, that’s not hard at all, I guess I never used it, so I assumed Venmo was easier”.

I’m really starting to think that it’s only so popular because of the social aspect of it. Ironically, I hate it for that very reason. I don’t want to show people that I just spent money and I don’t want to see others and how they spend money. Such a weird concept to me. Am I alone?