Social media can drain the mind. And when you are mentally exhausted, you are likely to be affected by a large number of likes on posts – up to Clicking on ads for products you don’t want or need.
According to a recent experiment by Matthew Pittman, assistant professor of advertising and public relations at the University of Tennessee, some Social media users are more willing to buy a product advertised on these platforms after interacting with them for some time. and that your brain starts to get tired.
For a study starting in late 2022, Matthew and Eric Hailey conducted three online studies with Americans aged 18 to 65. to test how people with different mental loads respond differently to ads.
Experiment
The control group in each study was not given an introductory task; they were simply forced to watch ads. The second group had to memorize a nine-digit number and then look at the ad. The third group scrolled through their Instagram feed for 30 seconds and then watched an ad. The first study used an ad for a cooking service, the second used ice cream, and the third used coffee beans.
The promotional photo and caption were the same for all members of each group, manipulated only by the number of likes. Participants randomly saw ads with several hundred or tens of thousands of likes.. After viewing the ad, each participant rated how ready they would be to buy the product and how much mental effort it took for them to process the information. The group that first used Instagram was the most likely to want to buy a featured product when there were a lot of likes or comments, and the group that reported putting the most mental effort into rating ads.
In the study asked people to explain why they wanted to buy the product, while the control group gave simple, rational responses of their choice: “I was thinking about ice cream flavors and how they would taste.” Or: “I like ads. It’s simple and clean. Straight to the point…”
However, those who simply browsed social media for 30 seconds they gave meaningless answers. For example, some gave monosyllabic answers such as “food” or “dish”. Others told us bluntly that it was difficult to process: “There were too many words and options in the image.”
Researchers refer to this state of mental exhaustion as “cognitive overload”. He using social media puts you in this state because you are constantly evaluating different types of text messages, photos and videos from different people. In seconds, you can see a message from your partner, a photo from a colleague, a video from a celebrity, and a meme from your brother. All this shifting and evaluation leaves us exhausted and distracted.
Imagine asking your roommate if he would like to go out for pizza. Under normal circumstances, a roommate may consider several factors, such as cost, hunger, the weather, or your schedule. Now imagine asking your roommate the same question while on the phone with a sick family member after stepping on dog poop and just getting a text from your ex when he reminds himself that he’s late for work.or. They no longer have the mental energy or resources to logically consider whether pizza for dinner is a good idea. They may just shout, “Yes, of course!” when they run to clean their shoes.
The authors conclude that By understanding how social media can unconsciously influence them, consumers can be more thoughtful. and consider regulating their use and hopefully not buying another bottle of water they don’t need.
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Source: La Opinion
Ashley Fitzgerald is an accomplished journalist in the field of technology. She currently works as a writer at 24 news breaker. With a deep understanding of the latest technology developments, Ashley’s writing provides readers with insightful analysis and unique perspectives on the industry.