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Top1. Introduction
The proliferation of digital technology has altered every aspect of our life. We use gadgets to connect with one another socially. Users build a long-term usage habit with smartphones and other gadgets, allowing them to access news, social media, location-based information, and more (Dwivedi, Ismagilova, Hughes, Carlson, Filieri, Jacobson & Wang et al., 2021). Technological advancements have led to the inception of new gadgets like smartphones which have paved the way for social media to permeate into our lives in an inimitable manner (Pew Research Centre, 2019). The appeal of social media among users and its marketing possibilities have been investigated from numerous standpoints. (Bright, 2018).
Several studies have looked into how social media may be used to predict consumer behaviour. (Kalampokis, Tambouris & Tarabanis, 2013; Schoen, Gayo-Avello, Metaxas, Mustafaraj, Strohmaier & Gloor, 2013). Consumer culture is prevalent in developed countries, with people frequently sharing information that has embedded consumer symbols and artifacts. (Presi, Maehle, & Kleppe, 2016; Van Vark, 2012).
According to a report published by Deloitte (November, 2020), almost 29% of social media users make purchases after getting exposed to the content on social media and they are also likely to spend four times more on purchases. Online purchasing was at 54 percent during the peak of the lockdown, but it climbed to 68 percent once the restrictions were removed. (Statista, 2020).
Social networking sites are the means to connect with anybody, anywhere, at any time. It becomes an arena for the creation of new personal connections with its spurring change. The burgeoning effect of social network sites (SNSs) over the last decade has significantly altered how people, especially youngsters, network and reach out to their peers through social networks (Bolton, Parasuraman, Hoefnagels, Migchels, Kabadayi, Gruber & Solnet, 2013; Boyd and Ellison, 2007; Brandtzæg, 2012). SNS users can generate, share and receive the contents created by other users with the help of SNS platforms when compared to the traditional media. Certain distinctive characteristics are offered by SNSs that permit responses from peers, taking the shape of status updates, reels, videos, and images (Boyd and Ellison, 2013; Smock, Ellison, Lampe & Wohn, 2011). This helps in fostering Self- expression.