This is a unique perspective to the topic at hand.
I understand that your point emphasizes more on the fact that globalization incites competition and that is a great way to look at it. Your girlfriend had a valid reason to avoid social media too. It can be suffocating at times.
Will you be willing to see it from another perspective?
Globalization, which in this case would be the advent of social media, helps bring people together. The only thing that social media does is bring people closer and makes them more intimate with one another. So for example, I get to share pictures and videos of my day, snippets of my life, and the people that see it get to react however they want to.
If I post a picture of my "ferarri" and the next thing another user thinks is, " how come she has one, now I have to get one by all means", then I think the problem comes from us humans rather than social media itself.
Of course I might be wrong or confused, feel free to share what you think.
This was a nice piece to read !
I clearly understand you point here too, the problem is on humans not the social media, people should know what they got theirself into, and not going for things that are above their reach at that moment, thanks for coming through.