Social Consequences of Using Social Media in E-Marketing: A Field Study in Erbil City

Abstract

The main objective of the current study is to identify and analyze the social consequences of using social media platforms in e-marketing, considering how these outcomes may vary based on factors such as gender, age, education level, and occupation. The researcher used Media System Dependency Theory to analyze the data. The data were collected quantitatively using a specially designed scale. The research population was (384) citizens of Erbil who use social media platforms for online shopping. Participants were not deliberately sampled, and the SPSS program was employed to test the hypotheses. The results showed that shopping through social media platforms has both positive and negative social consequences. However, social media facilitate business movements, buying and selling and supplying goods and supplies and save time and costs; They are also a platform for advertising, disseminating information, selling goods and creating jobs, but they have also expanded the scope of fraud and deception of citizens; The results have also created a kind of anxiety and distrust among customers; Especially since they have provided space for prostitution and the sale of prohibited goods and drugs; By and large, in addition to harming public health, they have also become a threat to culture, order and social security.