‘Number of Comments and Likes’ on Social Media Affects Consumer Preferences

It has been revealed that intensive use of social media makes people tired and affects the decisions made. According to a study conducted in the USA; It has been determined that using Instagram for even 30 seconds clouds the brain. He continues his studies at the University of Tennessee in America; Led by Matthew Pittman, who is also an article writer for Gizmodo, the effects of social media use on the human brain were examined.

Divided into Three Different Groups

Within the framework of the research; A group of social media users aged 18-65 were divided into three different groups. The first group saw only one ad, while the second group, which memorized a nine-digit number, was presented with another ad. The third group browsing Instagram encountered another ad 30 seconds later. These ads were related to food, ice cream and coffee, respectively. The brain, guided by Instagram posts for 30 seconds, made the purchasing decision in a shorter time.

Customers by Number of Likes

Researchers manipulated the “number of likes” in the advertisements they showed to the subjects and determined that people wanted to buy more products in advertisements with a high number of comments and likes. While participants in other groups gave logical answers when asked “why they want to buy” the products in the advertisements; Instagram users attracted attention mostly with their “one-word, meaningless” answers. This table was evaluated as the individuals who bought the product because they saw it on social media “could not explain why they bought it”. Matthew Pittman explains the reason for this: “Each post on social media contains a different subject.” he explains.

On the other hand, the human brain constantly seeing content in different categories and trying to understand them causes the person to feel tired. As a result of this negativity, the brain experiences “focusing” problems. But there is only one exception to this; If there is previous experience about the advertisement seen, the decision taken can be faster and more consistent.