Have you ever been on Social media and seen your favorite celebrity talking about a product? These promotions might not be totally random, and are actually seen as a vital part of the     1     process. The question is: How do social media influencers ‘influence’ what you buy?

Human desire for status and making friends, combined with our need to belong to a group, makes us     2     to being ‘socially influenced’. Companies often use that desire to have a similar lifestyle to a celebrity we     3     to hawk or launch a product. So, what do these promotions actually do? Firstly, they can be used to build brand awareness. A social media influencer should have a strong understanding of the platform they operate on, and therefore can create     4     content that not only sticks to the brand image, but sparks their followers’ interests in a product they might never have seen before.

Secondly, influencers can improve a company or product’s relationship with their customer     5    . According to In Moment’s 2018 US Retail CX Trends Report on customer loyalty, 77% of buyers have been brand     6     for more than ten years. This is also true of 60% of millennials. A popular celebrity can     7     key demographics (顾客族群) and talk or blog about a product, which can create a(n)     8     and lasting bond with the consumer.

Lastly, influencers can improve customer buying habits with seemingly ‘unbiased opinions’. We are more likely to respond to ‘    9     recommendation’ than traditional ads, meaning the fact we see an influencer as a ‘friend’ can make us less likely to be doubtful about what we are seeing. So, if you find yourself     10     a product you’ve seen on social media, you may well have been influenced.

Parents have been concerned about their kids’ use of technology since the dawn of technology—or at least since the invention of the transistor radio in the 1950s. Today, technology is everywhere, and kids are growing up    1    to their smartphones, tablets and laptops in ways that 50s moms and dads could never have dreamed of. Parental concern has grown along with this tech    2    . But now, even those in the industry are wondering if technology has taken a truly    3    hold on all of us ---and especially children.

No less than Melinda Gates, wife of Microsoft founder Bill Gats, wrote an editorial in the Washington Post last summer expressing regret for the Pandora’s Box she and her husband helped open. “I spent my career in technology. I wasn’t prepared for its effect on my kids.” She wrote. “Phones and apps aren’t good or bad by themselves, but for adolescents who don’t yet have the emotional tools to deal with life’s complication and     4    , they can add to the difficulties of growing up.”

A study, which came out this year, looked at yearly surveys of 8th, 10th and 12th graders in the U. S. between 1991-2016, and     5    markers of psychological well-being, such as self-esteem, life satisfaction and happiness. It found that such well-being suddenly decreased after 2012-just at the tie that the use of smartphone and social media    6    . There was a direct correlation between the amount of time spent on electronics and unhappiness. Happiness was highest among kids who participated in sports, followed by in-person socializing and     7    services. The lowest? Online computer games—the abuse of which has recently been     8    a recognized mental health disorder by the World Health Organization—and social media.

Early this year, big players formerly of tech companies such as Google and Facebook created the Center for Humane Technology and, in partnership with the nonprofit organization Common Sense Media,     9    a full media and advertising attack on the very industry they had a hand in building. Their initiative, the Truth about Tech, is pouring millions of dollars into a(n)    10    to warn parents, teachers and students that the technology they use is in fact engineered to addict them.