Abstract
Over the past decade, digitally mediated environments have transformed how consumers engage with markets, brands and consumption-related information. Algorithmic personalisation, social media platforms and AI-enabled marketing systems have embedded commercial persuasion into everyday online interactions. Within this attention economy, exposure to advertising and celebrity or influencer content is continuous, immersive and often personalised. While these developments create new opportunities for engagement and growth, they also raise concerns regarding consumer well-being and the sustainability of emerging consumption patterns. In particular, compulsive buying—characterised by persistent, uncontrollable purchasing associated with emotional and financial distress—has gained renewed relevance in digitally intensive contexts.
This study examines the relationship between screen time and compulsive buying through the mediating roles of advertising influence, celebrity influence and materialism, with mindfulness investigated as a moderating factor. Integrating perspectives from digital marketing, consumer psychology and responsible business, the research explores how digitally embedded persuasion may shape value formation processes that ultimately influence consumption behaviour. Drawing on a sustainability lens, the study situates compulsive buying within broader debates on responsible consumption and the long-term societal implications of engagement-driven business models.
A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 582 adult digital users recruited through an online panel. Established multi-item scales measured compulsive buying, perceived advertising and celebrity influence, materialism and dispositional mindfulness. Data were analysed using a moderated serial mediation model with bootstrapped confidence intervals to assess indirect effects.
Results indicate that greater screen time is positively associated with compulsive buying. Screen time significantly predicts higher perceived influence from both advertising and celebrity content. These persuasive influences are positively related to materialism, which emerges as the strongest predictor of compulsive buying behaviour. Serial mediation analyses reveal that the effect of screen time on compulsive buying operates primarily through persuasive influence shaping materialistic values, rather than through direct impulsive triggers. Mindfulness is negatively associated with both materialism and compulsive buying and moderates the relationship between materialism and compulsive buying, reducing the likelihood that materialistic values translate into maladaptive purchasing. However, mindfulness does not weaken the relationship between screen time and perceived persuasive influence, suggesting that it operates as a downstream self-regulatory buffer rather than a shield against exposure.
The study contributes to Sustainable and Responsible Business scholarship by identifying value internalisation as a key mechanism linking digital exposure to irresponsible consumption. It highlights the need for ethical innovation in digital marketing ecosystems to support responsible consumption aligned with long-term consumer well-being.