The Impact of Social Media on Consumer Behavior and Youth Consumption

This report examines the multifaceted impact of social media on consumer behavior, particularly among the youth, focusing on platforms like Facebook and Twitter. It delves into the advantages and disadvantages, exploring how social media influences communication, consumption patterns, and social interactions. The report references studies on the gratification model, entertainment, and professional advancement, while also addressing the potential for increased loneliness and the challenges of online relationships. The analysis considers the evolution of social media from a communication tool to a significant force shaping consumer choices and societal interactions, highlighting the need for a balanced perspective on its effects.

Surname 1
Student Name
Lecturer’s Name
Course Name and Number
Date Submitted
Introduction
Social media has become a popular trend especially among the youth of today. The
current world we live in is flooded with a myriad of social media platforms that have changed
the way people interact thus making it a global village. Social media platforms include but not
limited to social networking (LinkedIn, google, WhatsApp, Facebook), microblogging (Tumblr,
Twitter), video sharing (Facebook live, Vimeo, YouTube, periscope), photo sharing (Snapchat,
Instagram, Pinterest) (Fotis). The global communication has been affected greatly in a more
advantageous position than ever before. While decades ago, communication to our loved ones
was not an easy thing, where people had to spend lots of money on phone class, and send and
receive letters for days, these old habits have been buried by the presence of social media and
networks in the new generation enabling instant, unlimited and free communication globally
(Thoene and Sue). The new advancement in technology used in social media has made people to
become closer to each other by sharing messages online and multimedia items, tracking each
other activity online through their social media accounts, people also meeting online and
becoming the best friends ever or even finding love online (Fotis). Concisely, social media has
transcend to become the most popular worldwide web with over a billion users all over the
world.
However, despite the tremendous trends made by social media, the negative impacts have
also been worrying. While people become closer to each other and bridging the geographical

Surname 2
boundaries when it comes to communication, this has not made things any better in having a
healthier and easier communication (Mowafy and Moniem). With so many opportunities
provided by social media for communication, people have buried there head on the screen for
comfort in search of ghost friends who are never there for them. Ultimately, making them to
become lonely than never before, and to make things worse, there is no guarantee that these
online friends are sincere and value the relationship compared to a friend that you meet and talk
to occasionally. Given a number of contradictory nature that social media offers, it means that
there is so much interest in this topic.
With so many opportunities for socializing, people are as lonely as never before, and
even having hundreds of friends online does not guarantee you sincerity and closeness of
relationships (Perrin and Andrew). Given such a contradictory nature of social media, there is so
much interest in researching this topic, so you can receive an assignment on social media writing
at any moment.
Numerous research has been carried out on the role of social media. Thoene and Sue
(2012) analysed why most youth prefer using Facebook and gratification model. Among the
most popular reasons identified in the study was for entertainment, social interaction and
professional advancement especially for advertisement purposes.
The main aim of this study is to analyze the advantages and disadvantages of social
media networks on the internet particularly twitter and Facebook on the consumption pattern on
the youths. This thesis further examines the role of social media and its impact in the modern
world of today.

Surname 3
References
Fotis, John N. The Use of social media and its impacts on consumer behaviour: the context of
holiday travel. Diss. Bournemouth University, 2015.
Mowafy, Gina Abdel Moniem. The Effects of Social Media on the Academic Performance of
Nile University Students. Diss. American University in Cairo, 2018.
Perrin, Andrew. "Social media usage." Pew research center (2015): 52-68.
Thoene, Whitney Sue. "The impact of social networking sites on college students' consumption
patterns." (2012): 7-99.