The influence of social media on consumer behavior

Today, I want to talk to you about an important and relevant topic—the impact of social media on our views of consumption and ideas of reality.

There’s really no need to explain to people in the 21st century what social media is. Every day, we spend a lot of time online, where we consume all sorts of content—from cute cat videos to news and educational articles. The internet has become an important part of modern life. It shapes our behavior and habits.

On social media, we see filtered images of an “ideal” life every day. This makes us want the same things and to reach that same level of wealth and success. But how realistic is this picture? Does this kind of lifestyle truly make people happy? Today, I’ll try to answer these questions and find out how social media affects people’s consumer behavior.

Every day, people use social media to connect, stay informed, and follow trends. But how does social media manage to influence our perception? One key factor is the effect of imitation and social validation.

We love watching other people’s lives, and on social media, we can do this freely. We see the lives of successful, popular bloggers and influencers. They set fashion trends, travel, visit expensive restaurants, attend exciting events, and, most importantly, they seem happy while doing it. Seeing this, we unconsciously want to imitate them.

Bloggers show how their lives improve after buying certain things, and this makes us want to try those things too. Without realizing it, we start seeing these “ideal” influencer lifestyles as a standard, pushing us to reach for them, even if they don’t really fit our needs or financial abilities.

This effect is reinforced by social approval systems we know as "likes" and "follows." Every "like" or comment gives people a sense of importance, as if someone supports or agrees with them. This pushes people to post content not necessarily to express themselves but to seek validation. This drive for approval subtly strengthens consumer culture. People aim to buy certain products or services to keep up an image and feel “successful.”

The next aspect worth discussing is the culture of trends and how they influence consumer behavior. Almost all popular trends today appear on platforms like TikTok and Instagram, where they spread rapidly. Most of these trends are short-lived, constantly changing, and creating a need for frequent updates.

For example, in fast fashion, social media popularizes certain "aesthetics," and to fit into these aesthetics, people feel they need to buy specific clothing and accessories. Unlike traditional fashion trends, these aesthetics don’t come from fashion houses; they’re born on the internet. The issue here is that these micro-trends change as quickly as everything else online, leaving items out of style almost as soon as they become popular. These aesthetics are similar to subcultures, but they don’t seem to represent a worldview so much as a niche style. The suffix "core" can now be attached to almost anything, creating a new aesthetic for lifestyle, clothing, and behavior. There are so many of these “cores” now that they rapidly replace each other.

When talking about fashion and trends, there’s a phenomenon I found particularly striking. Recently, in the U.S., there was a big trend for reusable water bottles. This is generally a good trend since buying one bottle that you can use over and over is better for the environment than relying on single-use bottles. But the focus of this trend was on bottles from one specific brand, "Stanley 1913." People bought these bottles in various colors and sizes, using them as a kind of fashion accessory. There are even custom accessories for these bottles, like carrying cases just for the bottle itself. And they’re quite expensive—about $30-60 each. This trend quickly faded, and now we might wonder what people will do with their collections of water bottles. Most likely, they’ll end up as waste, which is a sad outcome. To me, this trend feels silly and pointless. But it’s a clear example of fast fashion in action, and it should make us question whether we’re thinking rationally before we buy something.

So, we have found that fast fashion is not only about clothing; it extends to other products like gadgets and cosmetics. For example, the beauty industry is constantly promoting new products and procedures. It’s well-known that big companies often profit from people’s insecurities, especially those of women. As a result, women are particularly vulnerable to being targeted with all kinds of beauty practices and products, many of which might not even be necessary.

One example that left a strong impression on me is the trend of 10-step Korean skincare routines, night skincare regimens, and so on. These routines encourage consumers to spend a lot of time and money on things that might not be highly effective but give them a sense of confidence. And on the other hand, if you can’t afford this variety of colorful skincare bottles to fill your bathroom shelves, you might feel less attractive or less “put together,” which can affect your self-esteem.

Social media’s influence on consumers is so strong that even 12-year-olds are starting to use anti-aging products, wearing heavy makeup, and getting into complex skincare routines. I don’t blame these kids—I actually have more questions for their parents, especially those whose kids are influencers making money from their image. This could be a whole other presentation topic. But seeing this trend, we can clearly say that people are afraid of aging. Aging is seen as unattractive, which, in today’s world, is almost seen as failure. This is how I interpret the trends we see today, especially in this era of “constant success.”

In conclusion, I’d like to note that I drew inspiration for this presentation from videos by American bloggers that happened to show up in my feed. I was really struck by the issues American people face with overconsumption. The problem of overconsumption seems particularly intense there. Maybe this is because, on average, people in the U.S. are better off financially, so many have met their basic needs and can spend their time and money on self-expression and self-discovery. They do this partly through buying trendy things that often become status symbols or a way of communicating with others.

At the same time, in Russia, with the rise of marketplaces and access to inexpensive goods from China, this trend is becoming relevant here too. So, I’d like to remind everyone to think before buying things. Don’t fall for marketing tricks, and let’s do our part to protect the planet.