Social Media Ads Change What you Think of Yourself

cnet.com

 The economic principle I’m exploring is “People generally respond to incentives in predictable ways/Institutions are the “rule of the game” that influence choices” My research question to help me study the economic principle is “How do companies incentivise men and women differently thru advertising?”

The article published in “Targeted Ads Don’t Just Make You More Likely to Buy — They Can Change How You Think About Yourself” demonstrates this economic principle because it shows a different and more efficient and effective way to advertise to people by using personalized targeted ads. I think this also connects back to advertisements that are connected to behavior and how it can also configure how someone thinks of themselves. 

First, there was a study of 188 undergraduate students who were said to have wanted to buy a groupon for a restaurant in an advertisement because they were told it was given to them based on their online presence and what websites they had visited. They also were asked how sophisticated they felt and they all responded saying they perceived themselves as very sophisticated. In actuality though, it wasn’t true and it was a random ad given to them. “This suggested that behavioral targeting specifically—not targeting group level attributes—increased their interest in the product.”

Second, another study was made for students showing them a high-end watch and how they also felt more sophisticated based on the fact that they thought it was specified to them when in reality it truly wasn’t. Also the next test test they did was giving people an environmentally friendly product and were told the same thing that the others were told and how this ad was specifically targeted to them. They then told how they were really outdoorsy, when their true online activity didn’t show that.

Third, the last test was on adults and they didn’t react the same to the testing. They were tested with outdoorsy hot cocoa, and those that were truly outdoorsy felt more outdoorsy while those that weren’t didn’t take any notice to the ad and didn’t change their perception to themselves.

This shows that if something that pops up targeted at one gender on someone’s feed online, it could change their perception of themselves completely or could affect their self esteem. “This targeting may change how consumers see themselves and make them feel like they already have traits implied by the ads.”

In my next blog post I will research: How companies are avoiding stereotypes in order not to offend consumers.