Social media such as YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram, in which materialistic values are ubiquitous, have become an essential part of the everyday lives of children and young adults in recent years. However, surprisingly few studies have examined the effects of social media on learning motivation and the potential role of the primarily used social media platform. One such study shows that problematic use is negatively related to intrinsic learning motivation (Reed & Reay, 2015). Furthermore, the expression of materialism has been shown to negatively impact intrinsic learning motivation (Ku et al., 2014). For this reason, one possible moderator for the relationship between problematic use and intrinsic learning motivation is materialism, defined as a value orientation emphasizing the importance of money and material possessions for happiness and success in life (Kasser, 2016). In the present study, we conducted an online experiment to activate materialistic values in participants to examine their effect on situational learning motivation. Participants (N = 149) were randomly assigned to one of three groups. In the first two groups, participants were either asked to rate the pleasantness of images of luxury goods or images of nature, both of which were framed as Instagram posts. A third group, which did not receive images for evaluation, was included as a control group. The findings provide evidence that activated materialistic values moderate the relationship between problematic use and intrinsic learning motivation. Limitations, applied implications, and future directions are discussed.