Can Self-Presentation on Social Media Increase Individuals’ Conspicuous Consumption Tendency? A Mixed-Method Empirical Study on WeChat in China

Abstract

Previous studies have mainly focused on the impact of social media self-presentation on individuals’ happiness and mental health, whereas few have attended to its potential influence on consumer behavior. A mixed-method empirical study with an online survey (N = 408) and an experimental study (N = 160) investigated the effects of social media self-presentation on individuals’ conspicuous consumption in China. We found that consumers’ self-presentation behavior on social media promoted tendencies for social comparison, thereby enhancing their conspicuous consumption. However, compared with individuals using social media less often, self-presentation had a more significant impact on the social comparison tendencies of users who used social media more often. Our study explains why individuals’ self-presentation on social media increases their conspicuous consumption tendencies. The study results contribute to the existing knowledge of how consumers’ behavior on social media affects their product preferences.

Keywords

• self-presentation
• social media
• social comparison
• conspicuous consumption
• social media use intensity
• China