4 in 10 Americans Would Permanently Delete Social Media to Eliminate Their Crushing Debt

Forget balance transfers or debt payoff plans — some Americans say they’d rather delete themselves from the internet than carry another dollar of credit card debt. 

That sentiment may be a hard pill to swallow for some folks. But in a recent CardRates.com survey, nearly 4 in 10 respondents said they would give up social media forever to have their credit card balances wiped out. 

“These results shine a very bright spotlight on the reality of just how painful debt is for so many Americans,” said Bobbi Rebell, CFP® and Personal Finance Expert at CardRates.com. 

“They aren’t saying they would give up social media for a few months or even a year. They are willing to go cold turkey on social media forever to get rid of credit card debt. They desperately want a way out and get out from the expensive and crippling debt that hangs over their lives. They want that weight off their shoulder.” 

The study reveals that debt doesn’t just exist in the financial sphere of our lives, but its influence can spill over into cultural and emotional parts as well. As our results show, for many, the cost of staying online is less than the cost of staying in the red.

Social media may not be as indispensable as we think, or at least not when a better tradeoff is in question. According to our study, 39% of respondents said they would deactivate their social media accounts — the top answer across the board — to get out of debt. 

This finding speaks to how debt competes with identity, social connection, and digital presence, underscoring the influence debt has on one’s lifestyle, choices, and possibly mental health. 

Now that it’s known that Americans are willing to part with their digital life to erase debt, who exactly is at the forefront of this charge? Our study breaks it down by demographics to see how willingness varies depending on who and where you ask.

By generation, older Americans held the highest consensus for swapping their digital presence in exchange for debt relief. In fact, Boomers were nearly twice as likely to log off of social media for good than Gen Z. Here are the numbers:

• Boomers (65+): 45%
• Gen X: 40%
• Millennials: 30%
• Gen Z: 24%

As for race, Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) respondents were far more likely than any other group to walk away from social media to achieve debt-free status. Our survey reported a massive gap in these scores, with 26 points separating MENA from the next closest racial group in the pool. 

This dramatic standout may point to stronger financial pressure or a lesser attachment to digital identity for MENA peoples. For a complete breakdown by race, look below:

• Middle Eastern or North African: 67%
• White: 41%
• Hispanic: 37%
• Asian: 34%
• Black: 33%
• American Indian/Alaskan: 18%

Where respondents live also played a part in this analysis. When asked about what they would give up for debt relief, residents in the West and Midwest were 17% more likely to say they would delete their social accounts than those who lived in the South. 

Differences among political parties were more balanced. In fact, Democrats (38%) and Republicans (36%) had close-to-equal splits when it came to their willingness to delete their digital life. Meanwhile, Independents were more willing to let go, with 44% saying they would sacrifice social media for debt relief. 

These results show that either Democrats and Republicans agree and share a deep affinity for social platforms, or Independents may be more financially motivated than the other two parties. 

Lastly, when it came down to gender, men edged out women on their willingness to give up social media, with 41% of men choosing this option compared to 36% of women. 

While no social media for debt relief is a no-brainer for some, others couldn’t imagine living with the tradeoff, which our results have shown. Our study revealed that quite a few other answers received high votes from respondents other than social media. Those included:

• Permanently delete all of your social media accounts (39%)
• Give up all streaming services for a year (31%)
• Relocate to a city where you don’t know anyone for a year (16%)
• Live without internet access for three months (10%)
• Sell your vehicle and rely solely on public transportation for five years (5%)

Among respondents, Gen Z was the most likely to say they would relocate to ditch debt, with that answer even topping social media with 30% of votes. On the other end, older Americans, including Millennials, Gen X, and Boomers, overwhelmingly chose to give up streaming as their second choice behind a social media exodus. 

It’s clear that Americans are willing to make sacrifices to get rid of debt, pointing to the financial pressure and inconvenience that debt can bring. But what they are willing to give up can vary, depending on who you ask. 

Though, across generations, deleting social media still ranked as the top tradeoff, our study revealed that older and younger generations value different things. While Gen Z fears an online disconnect, older respondents would rather avoid disruption and give up something more disposable like streaming services to get out of debt. 

This survey was conducted online among a nationally representative sample of 1,000 U.S. adults ages 18 and older. The data were collected using a third-party research panel and balanced to reflect U.S. Census benchmarks for age, gender, region, and race/ethnicity.

The overall margin of error is ±3.1 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. Margins of error are higher for subgroup analyses.

Respondents answered a series of questions about their credit card debt, financial stress, and willingness to make lifestyle tradeoffs in exchange for debt relief. The survey was fielded in March 2025.