Research Paper for the Culture of Consumption

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Annotated Bibliography

Ying Zhang

250947732

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The articles selected focus on both the negative and positive effects of advertisements

on consumption. These articles provide a broader insight social media advertisement and how

the platform helps business to pass product information to customers and convince them to

purchase the company products. The articles provide more useful information on the use of

digital marketing to attract customers.

Annotated Bibliography

1. Kazan, H., Karaman, G., & Okdemir, M. (2019). The Effect of Social Media

Advertisements on Consumption Perception of Adolescents. CTC 2019.

In this article, the researchers argue that in this age which is becoming ever more

connected; it would seem that people have never been more disconnected from one another.

In an age where likes and views are everything, it would appear to be the case that the

number of people who actually care about the lives of others is decreasing with alarming

rapidity (Kazan, Karaman & Okdemir, 2019). A trend which the researchers find to be rather

disturbing is the amount of time people spend with their faces glued to a screen. Statistically,

a person’s average 4-5 year old in Australia will spend more than 2 hours per weekday and

more than 3 hours per weekend day. These numbers increase by around an hour for children

between the ages of 12 and 13 (Kazan, Karaman & Okdemir, 2019). The image of an

overview of the average amount of time adults spend looking at screens, whether it be

television, mobile phones or computers. The researchers attempt to explore ways through

which media nowadays influence consumers’ behaviour and conception. The article is

therefore useful to my research proposal since it provides insight about ways through which

advertising influence consumer interaction with a product.

When it comes to social media and the internet in general, teenagers appear to be the

biggest consumers on both counts. On average, around 18 hours each week is spent browsing

the internet and social media in particular (Kazan, Karaman & Okdemir, 2019). However, it

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would seem that these numbers have increased since this survey was last conducted. The

article will obviously fit into my research as it demonstrates an inverse relation between the

amount of hours spent on the internet and social media, and how happy the subjects were. In

addition to this, it has also been shown that the psychological well-being of the subjects was

greater when they spent less time performing on screen activities.

2. Madni, A. R., Hamid, N. A., & Rashid, S. M. (2016). Influence of Controversial

Advertisement on Consumer Behavior. The Journal of Commerce, 8(1-2), 14.

The article will highly be useful to my research because it posits that the reason for

lies castigated in the media advertising is the fact that as consumers are becoming more and

more connected to their screens, they find it harder and harder to make real, warm

connections with others that can only be described as authentic human relationships (Madni

et al. 2016). In this regard, this article fits into my research as it describes how the

relationships between the consumer and company through the media is necessary for mental

well-being, accounting for a majority of the plethora of mental conditions including

depression and suicidal tendencies.

The researchers believe that the great paradox of the 21st century is that the more

people appear to have a multitude of connections online, the less they are able to connect

with people offline (Madni et al. 2016). The more connected we seem, the less connected we

really are. The above figures and facts will doubtless seem daunting and even disheartening

to some. Therefore, many consumers will no doubt be wondering if there are ways to avoid

falling into the trap of spending inordinate amounts of time on social media and the internet

(Madni et al. 2016). Fortunately, this is a subject on which there is no lack of helpful material.

The article describes a mind-set which should prove to be very helpful when approaching the

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topic of phone use. The trick is to treat a consumer’s phone as a toothbrush, using it only

when necessary. Granted, it is a great tool, but like an individual’s toothbrush, it is not

something an individual needs to be using every minute of the day.

3. Russell, S. J., Croker, H., & Viner, R. M. (2019). The effect of screen advertising on

children's dietary intake: A systematic review and meta‐analysis. Obesity

reviews, 20(4), 554-568.

The article educates consumers on ways to avoid false advertising and suggests the

importance of disabling notifications for non-essential things, such as likes, comments and

you-tube videos. This way, when a consumer wants to just sit down and relax without their

phone, they are not constantly reminded of the world of social media (Russell, Croker &

Viner, 2019). A second tip according to the researchers is to make use of a timer which can

tell how much time they have spent on social media on that particular day. Indeed this article

will be useful in my research as it explores ways through advertisements impact on

consumers, for example, the Facebook app has an in built timer or alarm which is set off

whenever an individual reaches a certain amount of time that you set.

According to the researchers’ experience, it seems that many people browse social

media due to boredom (Russell, Croker & Viner, 2019). In this regard, a third and final tip

could be to find some other useful activity which they enjoy since this could mean taking up

bush-walking, drawing, learning to play an instrument, or anything else from a list of literally

thousands of activities. In the end, the power to change social media and unhealthy screen-

time habits ultimately lies in their hands (Russell, Croker & Viner, 2019). The benefits of

more offline time and the risks of the inverse have been clearly demonstrated. It is up to an

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individual to choose an activity which leads to poorer mental health and an inability to

socialise easily with others outside of the online environment.

References

Kazan, H., Karaman, G., & Okdemir, M. (2019). The Effect of Social Media Advertisements

on Consumption Perception of Adolescents. CTC 2019.

Madni, A. R., Hamid, N. A., & Rashid, S. M. (2016). Influence of Controversial

Advertisement on Consumer Behavior. The Journal of Commerce, 8(1-2), 14.

Russell, S. J., Croker, H., & Viner, R. M. (2019). The effect of screen advertising on

children's dietary intake: A systematic review and meta‐analysis. Obesity

reviews, 20(4), 554-568.