Articles

An Investigation of the Effects of Mask-Wearing on Confidence Levels of Young People to Middle Age in Bangkok Metropolitan Region

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The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated widespread mask-wearing to prevent disease transmission. Initial studies indicated that 89% of the Thai population wore masks, rising to 96% when mandated. Even after the pandemic, mask-wearing persisted due to factors beyond health concerns. This research examines the phenomenon of “Mask Fishing,” where individuals believe masks enhance their attractiveness, a trend popularized on TikTok. The study explores the psychological impacts of mask-wearing, including increased confidence and reduced self-esteem. Additionally, masks have been found to improve perceived facial attractiveness, particularly enhancing the appearance of eyes. This study investigates these hidden factors, focusing on how mask-wearing affects personal confidence, communication, and facial expressions.

The Influence of Social Media Endorsement on Customer Purchase Decision

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Celebrity social media endorsement has become a popular marketing strategy over the last decade. However, it is not always effective in the consumer purchase decision process. Sometimes, it brings adverse effects to the brand and product due to the wrong selection of celebrity figures. and for MSME who have limited capital, it is very important to effectively choose celebrities on social media for endorsement so that marketing strategies carried out result in consumer purchase decisions. Therefore, this research aimed to investigate three variables that related to celebrity social media endorsement but had the most significant influence on purchase decisions. Among others: expertise, trustworthiness, and attractiveness so it can be used by marketers or MSME as an insight. This research used a quantitative method to collect the data; there were 205 respondents as a sample. The data will be analyzed with inner and outer models and calculated with PLS statistics. The findings revealed that all variables, including expertise, trustworthiness, and attractiveness, have a positive influence on purchase decisions. However, it is only trustworthiness and attractiveness that have significant influence, with the p-values of trustworthiness (0.042  0.050) and a coefficient obtained of 0.175, which means they have a positive and significant influence also p-values of attractiveness (0.000  0.050) with a coefficient obtained of 0,647, which means a positive and significant influence and expertise had an insignificant influence on purchase decisions with p-values (0.843 > 0.050) and a coefficient of 0.014, which means it had a positive and insignificant influence on purchase decisions. This research has come to the conclusion that MSME may consider applying celebrity social media endorsements to their campaigns, but they must take into account the variables that have a significant influence on the purchase decision. Particularly attractiveness, which had the most significant influence.