Using social networks can be a tiresome process. Fatigued individuals are more likely to click on advertising posts that lead to product purchases. Professor Matthew Pittman from the University of Tennessee proposed this thesis and investigated it in an experiment. Pittman specializes in advertising.
The professor, along with his colleague Eric Haley, conducted an experiment among Americans aged 18 to 65. Pittman divided the users into three groups. One group had to memorize specific information in a post. The second group had no particular task. The third group was given 30 seconds to scroll through Instagram posts. The selected advertising posts displayed food, ice cream, and coffee beans. The advertising theme was the same for all three groups but was chosen randomly.
The group that had to scroll through Instagram posts most often expressed that they would like to buy the displayed products if the posts had many likes or comments. However, these users also indicated that it took them a lot of mental effort to evaluate the advertisements. People who had not previously scrolled through the Instagram feed could clearly state why they liked a particular ad and why they would purchase the product. According to the professor, users who quickly skimmed through Instagram posts responded meaninglessly to clarifying questions about the advertised products.
According to Pittman, this is "cognitive overload." The researcher states that it is a state in which people have to constantly evaluate different types of text, photos, and videos. Through this study, the professor wants social media users to realize how much their activity on social networks can influence consumer behavior.