Buying Happiness: How Influencer Marketing Affects the Identity and Purchasing Patterns of Teens

Abstract

For the first time in human history, children are growing up watching the lives of strangers as a form of entertainment. Parasocial relationships—one-sided relationships where the child views the influencer as a friend and role model while the influencer is not aware of their existence—have become an integral aspect of an individual’s emotional development. While these relationships on their own are not necessarily exploitative, businesses often take the opportunity to capitalize on the trust and admiration fans have for influencers through deceptive advertisements. In just five years, influencer marketing has become a 10-billion-dollar industry. Sponsored posts are imbued into social media feeds, with a content analysis revealing 26.5% of Instagram posts and 11.4% of TikTok videos to be sponsored. When teenagers, the main demographic on social media, consume these advertisements, they associate the influencer and their success with the brand’s products. Consequently, an identity is linked to a material good, which directly fuels materialistic and consumerist ideals among the youth. Furthermore, the integration of e-commerce and social media allows individuals to easily purchase goods without leaving the app, facilitating impulsive purchases and shopping addictions. Given the prevalence and effectiveness of influencer marketing, it is extremely crucial to investigate the effect of sponsorship posts on teenage identity and purchasing patterns.