1
The Pros and Cons of Online Consumption and Social Media
Student’s Name
Course Name
Institutional Affiliations
Professor’s Name
Date
2
The Pros and Cons of Online Consumption and Social Media
Online consumption and social networking have numerous advantages that alter the consumer's
behaviour and the usage of marketing tools. First, mention the universality and ease of use; this
means that consumers can shop at any time and from any place, with procedures that are more
flexible than physical stores' working hours. This availability also enables marketers to provide
round-the-clock customer support and accessibility of sites on the mobile platform, improving
the customer experience. Besides, there is a vast assortment on the Internet, which enables
consumers to choose the best option according to their parameters, prices, and opinions
(Burnasheva & Suh, 2021). Marketers can always use complex algorithms to make the
recommendation system better and more pleasing to the clients, leading to more purchases.
User-generated content and reviews are also massive strengths. The content consumers expose
themselves to on social media platforms includes their experience and what they think about a
particular product; this creates social proof on which a consumer bases their decision to purchase
the product (Frick et al., 2021). Effectively, marketers can request satisfied customers to leave
their reviews and post their experience on various social media channels while using influencer
marketing, where influential personalities can help spread the word about the marketer's
company. Besides, data from consumption on the Internet holds the primary information about
consumer behaviour, enabling marketers to reach the identified consumer segments with the help
of chosen strategies.
Nevertheless, online consumption and the activities carried out through social networks also
have considerable drawbacks. Confidentiality and security issues play a central role since
consumers remain concerned about thefts of sensitive information and privacy violations.
Marketers should ensure that their cybersecurity is strong and communicate how customers’ data
3
will be used to maintain trust. Another critical problem is the side effects of social media
addiction and its impact on people’s mental health (Frick et al., 2021). Organizations and brands
can counter these effects by encouraging positive and good digital citizenship and sponsoring
and backing mental health causes.
Fraud also affects consumers and tarnishes a brand image through the spread of false
information and blackmail in fake reviews. The verification procedures also help preserve
content while utilizing artificial intelligence to filter fake news, which can improve content
cleanliness. Lastly, it is necessary to observe external factors that contribute to environmental
issues, such as the consequences of rising levels of online shopping and their impact on the
increase in packaging waste and carbon emissions (Burnasheva & Suh, 2021). Marketers should,
therefore, ensure they embrace sustainability issues such as using environment-friendly
packaging material and creating the offset.
4
References
Burnasheva, R., & Suh, Y. G. (2021). Social media usage, self-image congruity and self-esteem
influence conspicuous online consumption among millennials. Asia Pacific Journal of
Marketing and Logistics,933(5), 1255–1269.
https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/APJML-03-2020-0180/full/html
Frick, V., Matthies, E., Thøgersen, J., & Santarius, T. (2021). Do online environments promote
sufficiency or overconsumption? Online advertisements and social media affect clothing,
digital devices, and air travel consumption. Journal of Consumer Behaviour,920(2), 288-
308. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/cb.1855
