The social media paradox

Sammanfattning: Title The social media paradox How social media and influencers affect consumers’ perception of quality of life Course Code BUSN39 Global Marketing Authors Elisabet Lund & Paulina Haux Supervisor Peter Svensson Keywords Social media, Influencers, Conspicuous Consumption, Quality of Life and Consumer Behavior Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate how consumers perceive the consumption of influencers and social media and how it affects their QOL. Methodology The research has a phenomenology approach where the focus lies on consumers’ different explanations of different subjective experiences. This is conducted through semi-structured interviews. Theoretical perspective The main theories that the study is based upon, are theories about consumer behavior, quality of life and conspicuous consumption in relation to social media and influencers. Analysis and discussion This research aimed to understand the interviewee's different worlds, therefore the analysis and discussion had a more holistic approach. The analysis and discussion are based on the interviewee’s explanations. Conclusion Influencers and social media affect consumers’ perception of QOL mostly in a delightful way by creating a form of togetherness through social media and seeing influencers as role models. Moreover, the findings show that lack of control on social media has an unfavorable effect on consumers’ perception of QOL. Originality/Value This research sheds light on how consumers make use of social media and influencers in their daily lives and what influence it has on consumers’ QOL. Consumer behavior is always difficult to predict, however, our research sheds light on how consumers think and act in a social media context.