The holidays are supposed to feel warm, connective, and restorative yet for many people, this season brings a complicated mix of pressure, comparison, and emotional fatigue. When you layer in the intensity of online commercialisation, the result can be overwhelming. The digital world doesn’t slow down for the holidays; it accelerates, and our mental health often absorbs the impact.
The emotional weight of a commercialised season
Every December, the internet transforms into a marketplace wrapped in sentimentality. Brands lean into nostalgia, urgency, and idealised imagery. You’re encouraged to buy more, give more, upgrade more, become more. It’s a constant stream of messages that imply your holiday and by extension, your life should look a certain way.
For people already navigating stress, loneliness, or financial strain, this can deepen feelings of inadequacy. The curated perfection of holiday ads and influencer content creates a gap between expectation and reality, and that gap can feel heavy.
The pressure of “performing” joy online
Social platforms amplify the sense that everyone else is thriving. Perfectly decorated homes, matching pyjamas, elaborate meals, expensive gifts the holiday highlight reel is relentless. Even if you know it’s curated, it’s hard not to compare.
This pressure to perform joy can lead to emotional exhaustion, a sense of falling behind, and the feeling that your own experience is somehow insufficient.
When shopping becomes coping
Online commercialisation doesn’t just sell products; it sells emotional solutions. Feeling stressed? Buy something comforting. Feeling lonely? Treat yourself. Feeling behind? Upgrade your life. Algorithms learn your emotional patterns and respond with targeted ads that promise relief.
This can create a cycle of overwhelm and impulse spending especially when holiday stress is already high.
The financial strain behind the scenes
Holiday spending pressure is nothing new, but online commercialisation intensifies it. Flash sales, countdown timers, personalised recommendations, and “only 2 left” prompts create a sense of urgency that can push people into overspending.
Financial stress is one of the most common holiday mental health triggers. When the digital world encourages constant consumption, it becomes harder to set boundaries and easier to feel guilt or shame when you can’t keep up.
Protecting your mental space online
A healthier digital holiday isn’t about disconnecting entirely. It’s about creating intentional boundaries and using tools that reduce the emotional noise.
This is where privacy‑focused technology can make a real difference. Using a VPN and a privacy‑based browser helps limit the amount of tracking and profiling that fuels hyper‑targeted advertising. When companies can’t follow your every click, they can’t tailor emotional pressure to your behaviour. That means:
- fewer personalised ads
- less manipulation through urgency or scarcity
- a calmer, less intrusive online experience
- more control over what you see and when you see it
It’s not a cure‑all, but it’s a meaningful step toward reclaiming your digital autonomy during a season when commercialisation is at its peak.
Reclaiming a healthier digital holiday
The goal isn’t to reject the internet or holiday shopping entirely. It’s about creating space for intentionality and mental clarity.
A few grounding practices can help:
- Download a VPN and Privacy Browser like Max
- Set limits on social media during peak holiday periods
- Unsubscribe from promotional emails that spike stress
- Replace doom‑scrolling with something restorative
- Focus on experiences rather than purchases
- Acknowledge that your holiday doesn’t need to look like anyone else’s
Most importantly, give yourself permission to step back from the commercial noise. The holidays don’t require perfection, they require presence.
A gentler season is possible
The digital world will always push for more: more buying, more sharing, more performing. But mental health thrives in the opposite direction: more rest, more boundaries, more authenticity.
By recognising how online commercialisation shapes our emotions during the holidays and by using tools that reduce tracking and targeted pressure we can create a season that feels grounded, human, and genuinely our own.