Knowledge Management Research (지식경영연구)

The Knowledge Management Society of Korea (한국지식경영학회)
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Effects of Consumer Powerlessness on Narcissistic Self-expression on Social Media

소비자 무력감이 소셜 미디어 속 나르시즘적 자아 표현에 미치는 영향

  • Kim, Miyea (Barun ICT Research Center, Yonsei University) ;
  • Jun, Mina (Sookmyung Women's University)
  • 김미예 (연세대학교 바른ICT연구소) ;
  • 전미나 (숙명여자대학교 경영학부)
  • Received : 2020.08.08
  • Accepted : 2020.08.19
  • Published : 2020.09.30
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Abstract

When people feel powerless (with losing control), they show compensatory behaviors to get out of this state. The actions to compensate for powerlessness have been studied in the contexts of products or brands, but this study focuses on compensatory behaviors when using social media. Social media, which can express consumers' selves freely, has become a platform for self-expansion. It has been confirmed that the possibility of relieving psychological powerlessness through self-expression on social media exists. Therefore, we examined how people who felt powerless showed compensatory behaviors on social media. According to the analysis, consumer's powerlessness does not directly affect narcissistic self-expression on social media. However, it is derived as being fully mediated by the feeling of anxiety. The more anxious consumers feel, the more narcissistic they express themselves by posting photos of themselves with luxury brand objects that can show social power or authority. In other words, when consumers experience social powerlessness coupled with anxiety, they are likely to show compensatory consumption behaviors such as narcissistic self-expression in order to make their images cool and luxurious and draw others' attention on social media. We confirm that the compensatory consumption due to consumers' powerlessness, which leads to having anxiety, can appear in ways of presenting narcissistic selves on social media.

개인이 통제력을 갖고자 하는 것은 기본적인 욕구이다. 따라서 통제력을 상실하는 무력감을 느낄 때, 사람들은 이러한 상태를 벗어나고자 보상행동을 보이게 된다. 현재까지 무력감을 보상하고자 하는 보상행동으로는 제품이나 브랜드를 통한 보상소비행동이 주로 연구되어 왔으나, 본 연구는 소셜 미디어 속 보상행동에 초점을 맞추었다. 최근 자아 표현을 자유롭게 표현할 수 있는 소셜 미디어가 자아 확장의 플랫폼이 되면서 심리적 무력감을 소셜 미디어의 자아 표현을 통해 해소할 수 있는 가능성을 확인하였다. 따라서 무력감을 느낀 사람들이 소셜 미디어에서 어떠한 보상행동을 보이는지 본 연구를 통해 확인하고자 하였다. 분석결과, 소비자의 무력감이 소셜 미디어상에서의 나르시즘적 자아표현에 직접적 영향을 미치고 있지는 않지만, 불안감에 의해 완전 매개되는 것으로 도출되었다. 심리적 무력감을 느낀 경험을 회상하도록 한 실험 집단에서는 불안감을 많이 느낄수록, 자신의 소셜 미디어에 사회적 권력이나 권위를 보여줄 수 있는 대상(브랜드 혹은 상황)이 보여지는 사진을 게시함으로써 나르시즘적 자아 표현을 하는 것으로 나타났다. 즉, 소비자가 사회적으로 무력감을 경험하게 될 때, 이로 인해 불안감이 형성되면, 소셜 미디어상에서 자신을 좀 더 나은 이미지, 주목받는 이미지로 보이기 위한 나르시즘적 자아표현과 같은 보상소비가 일어나는 결과를 확인하였다. 소셜미디어내에서 나타나는 나르시즘적 자아표현이 다른 사람의 행복에 미치는 부정적 영향에 대한 연구는 현재 많이 진행되고 있다. 하지만 소셜미디어를 통해 자아를 표출함으로써 부정적 감정상태를 해소할 수 있다는 본 연구의 결과는 지식경영 측면에서 볼 때, 소셜 미디어 사용자의 전반적인 삶의 질 향상에 기여할 수 있는 전략의 기반을 제공할 수 있다는 점에서 의의를 지닌다.

Keywords

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