The Effect of Social Media on Young Consumers’ Mental Health

open_access
Open Access
Author:
Vozharenko, Viktoriia
Area of Honors:
Accounting
Degree:
Bachelor of Science
Document Type:
Thesis
Thesis Supervisors:
Ada Leung, Thesis Supervisor
Jeanne Marie Rose, Thesis Honors Advisor
Keywords:
Marketing Strategies
Boredom
Social Media
Mental Health
Generation Z
Social Comparison
Social Media Addiction
Social Media Detox
Consumer Behavior
Abstract:
As social media is an important part of Generation Z, it is imperative to conduct a study collecting both qualitative and survey data about the experiences of using social media in relation to Gen Zs’ mental health. Awareness of the potential negative impacts of social media will encourage young people to make better decisions in their social media use. Studying the impacts of social media on consumers' mental health will help businesses and organizations develop better and more ethical marketing strategies in the future. Lastly, the insights from this research will stimulate public policy makers to develop better regulations of social media marketing.    I examine the experiences and thoughts about social media from a variety of perspectives. I found out the notion of “boredom” has been repeatedly mentioned and articulated by the subjects. In addition, I also found out that there are discrepancies between subjects’ perceived and actual social media usage. Finally, subjects mentioned various types of social media content that could cause negative emotions and the coping practices that might alleviate the perceived negative influences from social media.  This study offers insights about the relationships between social media usage and psychological well-being among young adults. Excessive social media usage often arises due to perceived boredom, and likely leads to negative emotions, including negative social comparisons and increased anxiety.  Understanding consumer behavior regarding negative emotions associated with social media is useful for exploring consumer-business relationships. Emotions are an important aspect of shaping marketing practices, as positive emotions are more likely to get consumers’ approval.