SOCIAL MEDIA AND CONSUMERISM INTERTWINED A COMPARATIVE STUDY

AUTHOR: Niharika M, B.A LL.B. 5th Year, Kamkus College of Law, CCS University

Abstract

The research article mainly focuses on the consumer who is being influenced by social media its influencers and endorsements where the personal opinions of goods have been mixed with the monetary reviews making consumers fall prey to such tactics, not only violate one’s rights but also have a worse impact on the mental and financial consumer which today is a very important thing as it has become very easy to influence. Yes, it is good for the economy, and employment but to what extent does every positive view have a negative effect so does this social media get intertwined with consumerism. Social media has a huge impact in every aspect. It has become a market site where initially people were using it for connecting. Overconsumption is being promoted through this despite guidelines most of them are not following. There must be more limitations so that the consumer or the viewer cannot be fooled anymore. The awareness of consumers is an important must, the lack of awareness has been a huge negative factor. Business promotion and its functioning are done through social media where certain pages are setting up business and it is very difficult to even trace the owner to take action, false claims are made for the sale of products and when questioned about it gets blocked by the seller is a huge issue.

Keywords

Social media, consumerism, Overconsumption, Fast Fashion, Influencers, Endorsement.

Introduction

Social media was initially a platform for connecting with people around the world, still as times changed it has become a hub for entertainment, showcasing talents, and importantly a main ground for endorsements by influencers. Moreover, influencers, new trends, FOMO (fear of missing out), and so on have become factors in to rise in the overconsumption of goods. It is a very important aspect for the boost of the economy. But, at what cost? Overconsumption leads to harmful damage to the environment, mental well-being and also financial well-being of an average individual. The power of social media is nothing less but has a very huge impact on an individual as of today. Overconsumption of goods also known as consumerism has been slowly knitted into social media over time which has nothing but increased. This level of consumerism has been leading to dark patterns. This article focuses on the impact, awareness and limitations of social media, consumerism, and dark patterns. Overconsumption and social media have become intervening in today's society. Constant exposure to social media can influence and encourage overconsumption in various aspects of life such as material goods food and even experiences. The pressure to keep up with friends and portray certain lifestyles can lead to excessive consumption. Social media platforms often promote consumerism and the desired showcase and idealised life can contribute to overconsumption it is important to be mindful of the impact of social media on our consumption habits and strive for a balance in a sustainable approach.

Literature Review

There is a proverb in Sanskrit, “Ati sarvatra varjayet” which translates to“excess of everything is bad”.This principle certainly applies to overconsumption, a phenomenon that has been fueled by social media and influencer brand endorsements and advertisements in social media play a pivotal role in promoting consumerism. The prevalent issue of misleading advertisements and influencer promotion exemplified by the case of Adivasi hair oil has triggered important discussions about the disguised advertisements and their impact on consumer awareness experts have unequivocally stated that the claim surrounding the product lacks scientific backing yet it is concerning to that note that many consumers have been swayed by the so-called awareness videos, many experts state that Indian consumer market is lacking with regulations as it is easy to launch anything in the market which is a huge damage and this would cause a lot of harm to the consumers. The Center has set guidelines for the promotion of products amidst these guidelines yet most influencers are not complying with said guidelines. The Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution stated that ‘endorsement on social media platforms by influencers or celebrities the disclosure must be hard to miss, clear and prominent’. Regardless of the Center’s guidelines, many influencers in social media do not follow this or bury the endorsement disclaimer in the tags but do not make it clear, this causes more harm than good to the average consumer as they assume it is the real review of the influencer. It is also said that the endorsement should be the real product review which is not today’s case. There are many instances where for example a skincare product which was Korean skincare was very much hyped around and through the trend influencers stated that it was their personal favourite, that was not the case with the consumers who had different views about the product, consumers were not happy about the product and to this day aren’t happy with the product and reviews. Such reviews are not in terms with the guidelines as well as with the consumers. Social media influencers through their intense promotion of goods and their intense pursuit of suggestions which would change consumer lives, no average consumer can afford such materialistic things which take a toll on the financial and mental well-being of the consumers as this is seen as a symbol of status. The unethical sale of Coldplay concert tickets through dark patterns reportedly a man from Delhi purchased the ticket for Rs1 lakh only to find out the band would not be playing Punjabi music this example underscores the negative consequences of exaggerated high entrance promoted through social media. Over-Consumption in India can have several legal implications, especially in the areas of Environmental Protection and consumer rights. From an environmental perspective, overconsumption can lead to resource depletion, waste generation, and pollution which may violate Environmental loss and regulations additionally overconsumption of certain goods and services may cause harm to health and safety triggering the consumer protection law. The Consumer Protection Act, 2019 protects the interest of the consumer regarding the safety, grievance redressal of the consumer, and safety at the National, District and State levels to the aggrieved consumer against unfair trade practices, misleading advertisements, deficiency in services and so on. Not all consumers are aware of such grievance redressal. According to the research study by Dr Philip Ozimek he had taken 1,200 participants in a survey, where these participants would have to follow only one social media channel with at least use once a week and the results were shocking, as each participant spent 2 hours on average on social media and the observations were that most of the participants spent a lot for the products due to fear of missing out and also gave rise to the poor mental health of these participants. Another main factor known as trends, which has a very bad effect on consumers as well as the environment is fast fashion, where an individual would want to keep up with trends and own new materialistic products, fashion changes every day the trend culture on social media has been a very harmful effect on unethical labour practice, cheap materials which are used in fast fashion and then when these are disposed of the effect is on the environment as these fast fashion clothes are accessible for affordable prices which means the use of mixed materials in the clothes which causes harm to the environment as it is difficult to degrade, with rising population and rising demand it’s not just about the cloth material but packaging, poor working conditions, child labour and so on. The advertisements on social media are hugely different from the advertisements through other means as social media advertisements are curated from individual to individual based on the collection of data and purchase which is a huge privacy concern, these personal curated endorsements are more compelling on a consumer leading the purchase of unwanted products. The influencer kind of advertisements is in such a way where opinions of products, their uses and such things feel the fear of missing out on the lifestyle which makes our lives easy. You may have read about or heard about a recent instance where a 20 year old had emotionally thrown a tantrum towards his mother who was a flower seller near a temple to buy an iPhone or he would not eat food, a 20 years old individual is said to be the youth and future of our country, in the past, it was said that the future generation that is today’s generation would give importance to education and career making but the situation has been worse as materialism, status on social media has been given such importance that few live in by social media and for social media which is the harsh reality. With the evolving pace of today’s social media culture, it is very important to set curbs on these issues as soon as possible because every hour a new thing arises which keeps difficult to follow and in the pace with these trends consumer awareness is a must. The more one spends time on social media tends to make an instinctive purchase of a product rather than the individual who spends no time to less time. Human wishes have no limit; this has become a prime significance for marketing agencies. Many users wish to stop using such platforms but are unable to do so. The “anti-hauling” culture has been on the rise and few influencers have been educating the users by stating the reviews of hyped products which are helpful for consumers and alternatives are suggested to the viewers where Hanah Rosato expresses that “it is same as advocating for consumption” this alternative culture is said to be dupe culture which causes more problem with overconsumption. According to a Forbes article, Princeton 2020 conducted research where one-tenth of water is used for production that is 92 million tons of water used for one T-shirt an individual can use such amount of water for 2.5 years and also clean equipment in clothes manufacturing and found out that 57% of discarded clothes end up in landfills. This particular instance is not an Indian scenario but may have impacted Indian consumers where a Tik Tok trend of Stanley cups had caused huge waiting lines at midnight for the product which has become a household product irrespective of age from children to adults which caused overconsumption where few individuals started collecting several different colours by becoming collectors and also with this opportunity certain products was manufactured for these cups like bags to cups which hold some storage, straw lids, snack holders for the cups and what not, this was promoted through social media and children also became a part of this trend, USA has immersed in the consumerist culture and has been seen as a status symbol there to be a part of overconsumption, this should be taken as an example to avoid such situations in other countries where trends and influencers are being given the utmost importance. Livia Firth Co-founder of Eco-Age stated that “Fast fashion is like fast food, after a sugar rush it leaves a bad taste in your mouth”. The Consumer Protection Act, 2019 protects the rights of consumers also the Consumer complaint portal has been set up for complaints regarding the infringement of consumer issues this has a major impact on the protection of consumers, but it’s is not aware with many consumers who have been deprived of their services, in today’s world almost every individual knows their way around technology this complaint portal and such means have to be aware with consumers.

Methodology

This is qualitative research where real-world problems are taken into consideration rather than depending on data or analytics. Data for research is mostly collected via the Internet.

Result

According to Forbes Adviser, the statistics of advertising in social media and Influencer statistics,

77% of businesses use Social media for advertising, whereas 44% use it to build brand awareness, and 41% depend on social media for revenue.
76% of users on social media purchase something they saw on social media, whereas 11% buy immediately. 41% postpone purchasing later on and 12% opt to buy in-store. These statistics show how a user and business use social media for consumerism.
50% of millennials trust influencer-recommended products.

Discussions

When it comes to the studies referred to in the article, this article mainly focuses on the impact on consumer minds and not there must be guidelines for this upcoming career in regards to advertisements, as this is the source of their income even after guidelines are given by government indirect endorsements and disguised endorsements are main causes for consumer exploitation most of the population are unaware of this manipulative ideas unless they are out. The referred articles/research focus on social media and overconsumption of goods leading to environmental damage, labour conditions and mental stress on an individual leading to depression. The difference with the other referred articles is that the main focus is in the context of the fashion industry, and it’s on the level with human depression and unhappiness where humans are trying to find happiness through materialistic things and said that the advertising agencies are using the fear of missing out or the trends to follow are missed ou seen as a stigma in society.

Conclusion

Social media and consumerism have been woven together at present times, it has become a hub to influence user’s minds. This has been a major aspect for businesses and brands through promotion, influencers, and endorsement. This has been heavy for consumers as overconsumption is being promoted for economic growth. Just as every job and profession has some rules and regulations

to comply with accordance, being an influencer of social media is also a new career aspect where there must be certain guidelines, The Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution has set certain guidelines for celebrities and influencers which most of them do not follow and are unaware consumers fall prey for such promotion thinking it is the genuine review about the product. It is important for guidelines to this level of changing trends, technology and careers it is impossible to keep up with this kind of change and would not wait for anything or anyone every hour a new kind of tactic is being given birth to. New businesses set up on social media cause harm or violation of their rights getting scammed by businesses is something almost every consumer has undergone more than once