Adolescents’ Perception of Deepfake in Digital Advertising and Its Relationship with Their Consumer Behavior: A Study within the Framework of Advertising Literacy approach

Document Type : Original Article

Abstract

This research aims to investigate the impact of digital advertising on adolescent consumer behavior, focusing on their ability to detect deepfake techniques and misleading advertisements, in addition to exploring the relationship between the dimensions of advertising literacy and their purchasing behavior. The research was applied on a sample of 567 adolescents from (Alexanderia, Cairo, Minia, Aswan) governorates. Data were collected using a questionnaire measuring exposure to digital advertisements and scales assessing advertising literacy, the ability to detect deepfake techniques, and consumer behavior, The results indicated that the majority of adolescents (70.55%) are constantly exposed to digital advertisements while using the internet, with social networks (59.08%), gaming applications (58.20%), and influencer advertisements (54.85%) being the preferred platforms. The most common advertisement format was video (29.45%), followed by static and animated images (27.69%), while the most common way of interacting with advertisements was watching them until the skip option appeared  (61.20%).
            Furthermore, findings revealed that the social dimension of consumer behavior had the strongest influence on adolescents, followed by impulsive and digital dimensions, whereas the rational and financial dimensions ranked lower. The results also showed a moderate to weak ability among adolescents to detect deepfake techniques, particularly in visual discrimination and contextual analysis, accompanied by feelings of anger and deception upon encountering fake content, and a decrease in trust toward brands and media outlets, The study recommends enhancing Advertising literacy programs, developing adolescents’ analytical and critical skills, increasing financial awareness, implementing regulatory policies to prevent the use of deepfake in youth-targeted advertisements, and encouraging future research to monitor the impact of these advertisements.

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References

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