정치적 소비주의, 소비자불매행동 그리고 소셜 미디어 : 소셜 미디어 이용 동기 및 정치사회자본을 중심으로

Noting that shopping activities, which have been regarded as unrelated to social reform, are being highlighted as a powerful means of activism to realize social justice, and that social media plays an important role in forming so-called “big public opinion” by intervening in major political and social issues, this study aims to investigate consumer boycott in the light of political consumerism centering on social media use. More specifically, it examines the status and motivation of political consumers' participation in the boycott, their motivation of social media use, politically-relevant social capital within social media, and variables affecting the participation of boycott. In addition, it compares the differences between political consumers and non-political consumers, focusing on the motivation of social media use, politically-relevant social capital within social media. To that end, the survey was conducted on consumers aged 20 to 59 and 1,036 questionnaires were used for analysis. The results are as follows. First, political consumers who have participated in the boycott for political reasons for the past five years have been boycotting an average of 5.15 companies for 15 companies that have been the main targets of the boycott in Korean society over the past five years, with the highest level of motivation for social justice. Second, there were significant differences in demographic variables, the motivation of social media use, social media usage time, and political interaction among politically-relevant social capital within social media between political consumers and non-political consumers. Thirdly, educational level, motives of boycott participation, and political interaction among politically-relevant social capital within social media have a significant impact on the level of participation in the boycott. Lastly, for non-political consumers, lack of information and need, or doubt of effectiveness are cited as the leading reasons for non-participation. Based in these results, the possibility of realizing social justice through consumer boycott and the potential contribution of social media in this process were discussed.