How Does Social Media Addiction Affect Impulse Buying?

Research has shown time and time again that social media can have many negative effects on its users. So, why can’t we stop scrolling?

Well, it’s an addiction like any other. However, social media addiction often has multiple facets and can lead to other addictive behaviours. A team of U.S. researchers decided to look into one potential extension of social media addiction: brand addiction and impulse buying.

Read on to learn more about their findings.

What is Social Media Addiction?

According to the research, a staggering 4.62 billion people use social media today. Of these, the average user spends 2.27 hours/day on social media. This may come as no surprise, as social media offers many potential emotional and social rewards to its users. However, it is not without its downsides, including anxiety, low self-esteem, depression symptoms, and more.

The negative consequences of social media are most often seen in those who form an unhealthy dependency, often seen in those who visit social media to unwind, escape, or decompress.

Social media addiction is not classified as a behavioural disorder like other addictions (alcohol, gambling, gaming, etc.), but it shows up in similar ways. For example, someone addicted to social media will keep logging on despite the negative consequences of FOMO, increased anxiety, loss of sleep, and more.

Brand Addiction and Impulse Buying

According to the research, social media addiction often goes hand in hand with impulse buying and brand addiction. Some definitions:

Brand addiction is the compulsive need for a consumer to follow, buy from, support and think about a brand. Past studies show that brand addiction can have positive effects on self-esteem and life happiness, but negative effects on financial debt.
Impulse buying happens when you don’t plan to buy something, but when you see it you want it.

Connecting the two, brand addiction can be seen as a close relationship between consumer and brand online, where the consumer is driven to impulse buy the brand’s products.

Social Media Addication, Brand Addiction and Impulse Buying

Brand addiction and impulse buying can be connected back to social media addiction. After all, social media platforms have become more e-commerce-focused than ever before. When was the last time you scrolled through Instagram or Facebook and weren’t served a whole collection of ads?

This research found that brand addiction and impulse buying on social media showed:

A tendency of users to buy from their favourite brands on social media
Users expressing obsession with their favourite brands on social media
Dependency and a lack of personal control when seeing favourite brands’ social media content
Impulse buying on social media

This demonstrates that social media addiction predicts brand addiction and impulse buying. In addition, the negative effects of using social media (anxiety, loneliness, etc.) were related to brand addiction and impulse buying as they further influence social media addiction.

How to Avoid Social Media Addiction, Brand Addiction, and Impulse Buying

The findings of this study support a few key hypotheses:

Those who are already addicted to social media are likely more susceptible to brand addiction and impulse buying.
People who are addicted to social media and experiencing anxiety or loneliness may be more likely to develop brand addictions and impulse buy.
A combination of social media addiction, brand addiction and impulse buying could have more negative effects than social media addiction on its own.

So when is it time to set some strong boundaries or take a deep look inward?

If you find yourself logging back into social media for an excessive amount of time despite its negative effects on you.
If your emotions are affected by the updates of a favourite brand on social media.
If you often make impulsive decisions about buying from a favourite brand on social media.

Everything in moderation is key. Be honest with yourself and consider your mental, physical, and financial well-being.

Think it’s time for a step back? Try this:

Disable social media notifications.
Delete the apps.
Don’t mix social media and work/school.
Try a digital detox. If you struggle, it may be time to implement more permanent solutions.
Replace scrolling with other hobbies: reading, an instrument, exercise, baking, pottery, etc.

Social media does not have to be a negative presence driving consumerism in your life. Take control of your habits and reap the benefits!

Study Objective & Methods

What drives addiction on social media sites? The relationships between psychological well-being states, social media addiction, brand addiction and impulse buying on social media.

Angeliki Nikolinakou, PhD; Joe Phua, PhD; Eun Sook Kwon, PhD.

Department of Advertising & Public Relations, Grady College of Journalism & Mass Communication, University of Georgia; Temerlin Advertising Institute, Meadows School of the Arts, Southern Methodist University; School of Communication, College of Liberal Arts, Rochester Institute of Technology.

This study sought to understand the relationships between social media addiction, brand addiction and impulse buying. They conducted an online survey of people aged 18-44 who used social media at least once per week.