The Dark Age of Advertising: an Examination of Perceptual Factors Affecting Advertising Avoidance in the Context of Mobile Youtube

This study explored the perceptual factors affecting consumers’ advertising avoidance on social networking sites (SNSs) in the context of mobile YouTube by relying on the psychological theory of reversal theory. The study employed an exploratory survey methodology via surveys adapted from prior research. The investigation then empirically tested these factors. The findings highlighted the need for SNSs platform owners and online advertisers that subscribe to online paid advertising to consider their options for mitigating the consequences of consumer advertising avoidance by understanding the bi-dimensional psychological profiles of target audiences. This would enable video-based SNSs platform owners and online advertisers that use these platforms to appreciate the heterogeneous and dynamic nature of consumers’ frames of mind and to personalize advertising content to cater for their individual psychological profiles.