The Role of Social Media in the Creation of Young People's Consumer Identities

This article explores how young people construct and express their consumer identities via their consumption styles on social media. The importance of commercial content on social media, such as the postings of social media influencers and advertisers, has been increasing during the past years. Framed by theories on social identity, social comparison and consumer socialization, we analysed focus group discussions with 15 to 19-year-old teenagers in Finland (N = 35). The results reveal that the participants had a clear understanding of their consumer identities: what kind of consumers they were and what they did not want to be. The consumption styles: luxury brand-oriented, trendy second-hand and sustainable, were heavily affected by social media, particularly by commercial social media influencers. Although our sample of young people was rather small, the results were consistent with other studies, and provided deeper understanding of the important role of commercial social media in young people's consumption styles. Thereby, the research brings social media more tightly into the process of young consumers' identity formation. For today's young people, consumer identity is a major part of social identity which is greatly affected by social media. This is should be acknowledged by commercial actors, educators and consumer policy makers.

Automated summary

This article examines how young people utilize social media to shape and express their consumer identities. The rising significance of commercial content, including influencers' posts and advertisements, on social media platforms has been acknowledged in recent years. By adopting social identity, social comparison, and consumer socialization theories, the researchers conducted focus group discussions with Finnish teenagers aged 15 to 19 (N = 35). The findings indicate that the participants possessed a clear understanding of their consumer identities, defining the type of consumers they were or aimed not to be. Social media, especially commercial influencers, heavily influenced their consumption styles: luxury brand-oriented, trendy second-hand, and sustainable. Although the sample size was relatively small, the results remained consistent with previous studies, providing a deeper comprehension of the crucial role of commercial social media in shaping young people's consumption styles and enmeshing social media into the process of young consumers' identity formation. Acknowledging that consumer identity constitutes a significant portion of social identity, which is profoundly impacted by social media, is imperative for commercial actors, educators, and consumer policy makers.